Born alone, He lived the life of legend
by harplayer
Summary: Born alone by acts of desperation, He roamed the elemental countries, earning respect and power. A single man capable of crushing anyone in his path. Not with the Kyuubi, but his own skill and will as his weapons.
1. Chapter 1

The Opening:

Kushina Uzamaki-Namikaze lay in the hospital bed, nearly unconscious from Shadow Clones doing her last minute bidding. She loved her husband, but hated her current residence. She knew she was dying, she had scant hours. As soon as she knew her husband was out of the house and heading to the tower to start his hours long process of drawing his seals to use on _**HER **_son, two fresh vials of blood hit the seals on the house. Her clones cleaned out all of her scrolls, pictures, family heirlooms and family weapons. Pausing, smiling evilly, 1 of her shadow clones went into her husband's study. Good, her clone thought, the conversion seals and scrolls are still here. Quickly grabbing the seal designs for the demonic chakra conversion and their attachment points diagram, she strode to the scroll rack, grabbing the Hiraishin, Rasengan, seal notes and his Wind Jutsu. Grabbing 2 large storage scrolls, she sealed each set in 1 scroll, then grabbed a small piece of seal paper, ink and brush she left. On her way out she changed the master seal so only someone of Uzamaki blood could get in. "That damn pervert and this village's slime isn't getting this property, Idiot should let them die."

The shadow clones got back to the hospital room climbing up the wall, and into the room. "Quickly" Kushina groaned, " We have scant time, Draw the storage, time release and memory seals. I have to gather my thoughts for the message. "

She popped not one but 2 soldier pills from her handbag , and began to concentrate. Picturing Whirlpool's Oceanfront beaches, she pictured her and Naruto walking along the beach. Mother and son, Mother explaining Life's mysteries while enjoying an evening walk.

"Hello, My son. My name is Kushina Uzamaki-Namikaze. I expect you are at least 6 years old at this time. You are the last son of the Uzamaki, You are born of Noble blood, Your birth coming at a time of danger to this village. A shame, 2 days earlier or 2 days later and I would be with you in person, showing you the Uzamaki way. Your Father, the idiot he was, sealed a Bijuu in you. Know this you are and will always be our son. Nothing more, Nothing Less. Your Father was a decent sealer, but he got his best ideas from OUR family's belongings. That being said, always know you are my little boy even when you become a grown man. Your father expects you to be a ninja for this village, DO NOT do that, You are royalty, find your way to our ancestral home and rebuild it to its glory. Build a home, live life for you and your future. I've sealed all our Uzamaki belongings, along with your father's best jutsu and seal notes in a Timed, blood seal on you. Only you can open it, I put it on the last place anyone would look, You'll figure it out. I wanted to give you more than this, but there is enough money in there to get you safely via civilian transport to whirlpool. The seal is reusable and well hidden.

Now I want to tell you my advice for life and training. Uzamaki's never learn jutsu till their body is trained. A Kunai from a blind spot is far more effective than a fireball. Damn Leaf idiots. A Ninja is never seen, never heard, Quick and accurate. Knowledge is power, never go into a fight without knowing everything about your opponent, It's better to briefly retreat, learn and strike back, than go into a fight use all your skills and jutsu and come out winning but broken. That's how the Leaf fights, Fancy Jutsu after Fancy Jutsu. Learn the weapons, stealth, and skills of your opponents, then strike. I've put the Taijutsu and educational materials in to come out of the seal first. You do NOT have to be in Konoha to learn everything, You have enough there to be in the middle of nowhere, learn everything and reappear a Kage level Nin.

I also want to tell you I want grandbabies, lots and lots of grandbabies. To do that, you will need 2 wives, Find someone, strong, Caring, loving. Find someone with integrity and Honor. You won't find that in the leaf. Hell, even the idiot your father , The Mighty Yondaime Hokage had to find me to find someone, That should tell you how bad Leaf Kunoichi are.

Leave Konoha as soon as you can. I've entrusted the only student I have left alive to train you up to speed to get out at least and get to Whirlpool. Once you get there, never return to the Leaf. If it turns out there is no way to get a restoration of Whirlpool completed. Seek out a new home, Avoid Iwa, Ame, Snow, Mist, Wave, even Wind owe the Uzamaki. Tea is Nice, Grass and River can be peaceful. As far away as Iron our clan is known.

I expect Konoha's "elite" will ignore you as you've grown, The ignorant masses of civilians are always in someone's control. Ignore them, they wouldn't last in any of the other major Ninja villages.

Finally, I love you my son, I sped up my death to guarantee your survival. When you love someone, you're willing to die, to keep them alive.

Live Long, Kill all who stand in your way, rebuild our clan.

Goodbye, I love you."

The memory seal complete, Kushina popped yet a third soldier pill, knowing it would kill her popping 3 in an hour. She didn't have anything to loose, she know Danzo would kill her if the bleeding didn't. Feeling that last rise of chakra, she sealed the scrolls in the storage seal, put the birthmark on over it. Placing her hands on her son's head, she turned to her last student , tears rolling down her face, "no older than 6 years old to start him, He needs to be able to fight Chunnin to leave. He should be about 8 if you train him the way I trained you." Facing her son, she focused the entirety if her chakra and placed the memory seal on her son, fell back in her bed, and died.

Placing Naruto in the small crib in the room, Kushina's last student, smiled down at the future Uzamaki clan head, gently rubbed his face with his knuckles, knowing in a short time, his father or his students would be here to take him for the sealing. "It will be as you asked Kushina-sensai. Of all the people I met, only you were my real friend and teacher. "With a small sigh Uchiha Itachi age 9, About to be an Anbu inductee, dimmed the lights and left the room via the window, tears rolling down his face for the first and last time in his life.

Ten minutes later, Kakashi and the Sandaime came to the room, seeing the lights dimmed, assumed Kushina was asleep. Quickly picking up the bassinette, placed Naruto in it, Kakashi ran to the Hokage tower. The Sandaime however stopped, turned and looked again. Seeing a pair of tiny ink spots on the blanket. Moving to the bed, he realized Kushina was dead. A small smile on his face. He never did like Kushina, At least she gave Minato a strong son.

Returning to the tower after a quick shunshin, the 3rd calmly walked into the office where Minato was placing the last of the seals on Naruto. "Swear on your life for me Hirunzen , that my son will not be in danger after this, That the village will see him as a hero or die. Protect him and Kushina for me. "

"Minato, Kushina is dead." Stated the 3rd, quickly and quietly.

"Well screw me" intoned Minato. "I will need to alter the seal yet again, Without Kushina alive to handle the adjustments, I will to make sure he can defend himself against any and all who try to harm him. The Kyuubi summoner is out there somewhere, He knows the only way to stop the Kyuubi is to seal him and wants me out of the way. Give me ten minutes, then return and take him to the chamber."

With that Kakashi and Sarutobi left the room. "FUUCKKK" Screamed Minato. Racing around, grabbing his ink and brush once again, he gathered his chakra. He too began drawing his own memory seal. Focusing his Mind, he pictured Konoha in it's prime before the 3rd Shinobi war. He pictured him and his son sitting at the Ramen stand. Spinning his stool to face his son. "Hello Naruto, My Name is Minato Namikaze, I am the 4th hokage. In your shoes, I'm sure you hate me and I want no forgiveness. I sealed the Kyuubi in you to defend the village. Right, wrong, caring or not, it's what I needed to do to save this collection of people and history. Without you mother here to care for you, I know my last requests will not be honored. I'm still doing it. But know this, Wherever you are, Whomever you love, you fight for what you believe in. I believe in the Leaf. I have to figure your mother did as she told me she would, show you the dark side of Konoha. Just remember not everyone is worth letting die as cattle here. I found out minutes ago your mother was dead. I will miss you both dearly in the afterlife. It seems callous to leave a defenseless orphan with a burden such as yours. I cant imagine what your life will be. I left the clanhouse sealed, and all our belongings in it. Only Your Mother, you and I could ever get into it. It takes fresh, seconds old blood and chakra to open. Goodbye,…..My Son"

Placing his hands on the sides of Naruto's head, gathering his chakra, finished the seal. As he was gathering the chakra and pushing into the seal, Kakashi came in for Naruto, turning his head to look and see whom it was, he never noticed the Seal being isolated and blocked by Kushina's. If he had, He would see the time factor on his seal was synched to come after Kushina's now. Kushina had the last laugh after all. Ten minutes, one ride on Gambunta later, the Kyuubi was sealed. The Yondaime now dead, The 3rd went to the office with Naruto, ordered a crib, medic and food for himself and Naruto.

Looking down with a smile, he rubbed the now whiskered face of the exhausted infant, Chakra swirling around the seal. "You will be a great warrior for Konoha, I can guarantee that."


	2. Chapter 2

The foundation of the legend started under the eyes of many:

Itachi Uchiha, Student, Brother, Teacher, Soon to be traitor of the leaf looked out the Tower window into the night. He had just been ordered to slay his family. Peering out into the night, he saw the signal that designated Naruto had reached his goal, A single Light shone out the window of the Weapons shop down the street from the tower. It's illumination coming in 3 10 second flashes and then extinguished.

"Hokage-sama, I require not 1 but 2 signed and sealed sets of orders for this mission, It is my right as ANBU to decline S rank missions. No prefacing statement limited this right."

Danzo, from his seat, rocketed up, "Absolutely Not, this should be a hands mission"

"Your asking me to destroy my clan, I will not do that without reassurance that when the time is right I will get the chance to resurrect the Uchiha. The second copy will go to a trusted friend, safe and sound to provide insurance should accidents happen. Provide me with 2 authentic seals sets of documents or get someone else to do it, non-negotiable. You want to avoid a civil war, refuse me and watch Konoha burn."

With this, Itachi turned to jump out the window, and leave the current powers of Konoha in the lurch. Reaching out to grab him, the Hokage slowly nodded his head and agreed to the terms. "Come back in 48 hours, Your Pardons, Orders, and supporting evidence will be ready."

Nodding, Itachi leapt out the window, A mass of ravens dividing up and going in multiple directions to avoid trackers. Itachi returned to his students favorite thinking spot, The top of the waterfall where his students mother trained the best genin team in a generation, too bad 2 were dead, and the 3rd would be leaving Konoha forever, the Documents to be used as ammunition when needed to embarrass Konoha.

Naruto arrived shortly, his skills while excellent, weren't where Itachi's were at that age. Mostly it was keeping off the radar of his fellow ANBU and the Ne Branch of Danzo's ANBU that caused it. Since his 6th birthday, Naruto had been taught proper reading, writing, observation skills, tracking and stealth. His Ninjutsu was impressive, learning the Kage Bunshin , just 1 year and 2 months after his training started. Basic elemental manipulation was just starting. Taijutsu wasn't a strong point, How could a child fight a man, So Itachi trained him like he was, Know the moves for now, Master the reflexes and response times. Kunai and Shuriken skills escalated exponentially after his Bunshin training. Basic Survival skills in the wild, Jutsu and tactics, all ingrained from the start. Itachi knew it wasn't his job to make Naruto a master ninja, no , his job was to make Naruto capable of learning and excelling. By fulfilling his promise to his Sensei, He knew someday, the future clans would team up to change to the Shinobi world, by fear or worse if needed.

"Thank You Naruto, I assume all is sealed?" as Naruto handed over the 3 new storage scrolls stolen from the weapons store.

"Hai, Clothing for Cold climates, Special camping gear, Extra weapons, Rations, Pills and Medical Kit. I stashed the exact same for me, plus training supplies to keep me going for awhile. When do I need to make an appearance at the tower?"

" I would be there by 3PM in 2 days, Do something outrageous like you mom would do when she felt wronged. ANBU loves the 3 hour tour of Konoha, I would push it a little longer to give me time to get the document set for you up here and hidden, Retrieve it as quickly as you can. Remember, Stay as long as you can stand it here, When you leave, leave quietly and with all the misdirection you have. "

"Hai sensei, Good Luck on your Mission, I'll see you again in this lifetime. Be it in Whirlpool or in the other nations. Hopefully by then we can swap pictures of our children and tell stories over Dango and Sake."

And With that conversation began the story of the Maelstrom, The Silent Killer.

Itachi arrived at the tower at 2 pm. 2 days later. The Hokages secretary, escorting him in. Setting a pile of documents on the Hokage's desk. The 3rd reached over and examined each set, Each was identical, lacking only the official seal and signature on each. Grabbing a writing implement and signing his name and stamping each, He passed each set to Itachi in 2 separate sealing scrolls.

"Itachi, for what it's worth, you are doing Konoha a great service, words can't suffice the gratitude of your village."

"Can we not do the Lies Hokage-sama? You know as well as I do, I do this for one reason only. Everyone meets the losing hand once in life, this time it's the Uchiha clan, for all they've done, this is just justice."

"Please make sure Sasuke survives, the village will welcome a resurgence of the Uchiha, a Founding clan of the Leaf."

"Hai Hokage-sama. You may use the agreed upon intelligence contact starting in 6 months. Till then, Am I dismissed?"

"Good Luck and Good Hunting"

Naruto, standing outside the tower, watched his sensei, leap out the window. That was his cue. Looking up at the Hokage mountain, a sly smile came over his has as Chakra storage scrolls released their bounty, Chakra based paint changing the 4 Hokages to look like clowns, Red noses and all. Kami love timer seals. More importantly, Kami bless his mother, wherever she may be in the afterlife, After reading the basic training materials provided, the first thing he leapt into whole-heartedly was the book on sealing theory, decades of notes and ideas, marked in the margins. Even better was the documents describing with absolute precision the 20 seals a Uzamaki had to know to be considered a Ninja, Timer seals being number 7 of 20.

He slowly slid into the shadows, starting the arming process of traps and sealed Kage Bunshin to be released when the Bait Bunshin led ANBU past them. When that was done, he calmly left to the waterfalls and the hidden cove where behind his security seals, he could hide for days while his sealed timer released clones would lead ANBU for however long Naruto wanted.

"Well Sensei, your diversion is ready, Be strong, Good Hunting"

3 days later, he came out of the cove, Henged into a drunken civilian and heard the announcement that the Uchiha Clan was dead, each and every last one. No survivors . The announcement made, he walked with a slight hitch, occasionally singing a well known bar tune, cursing when he forgot a lyric, which made it all the more real. The gates, open once more at the civilian side appeared in the distance, He made his way through using the stolen credentials of a drunk he rolled weeks ago and left to his freedom. It would be 8 years before anyone from Konoha whom could recognize him would see him, except for Itachi.

Itachi had left the tower, and while Naruto was plotting chaos and mayhem of a scale he couldn't imagine, placed the scroll in the special storage space in the cove, Being his Sensei's student, Kushina had keyed him into the cove as well. Kami love sensei, she always thought ahead. Her son would surpass her and his father, With a sly smile of a challenge accepted, he shunshin'ed away, going to prep himself for the fight and flight to come.

At the arranged time of 5 o'clock, while the ANBU shift change was being cancelled due to the worst or best Naruto prank ever, Itachi slid into the Uchiha clan compound. Madara had volunteered to assist, But Itachi declined, Several of Naruto's Hyper charged Clones were in the final present Naruto gave to his sensei, Opening the scroll, he wiped a bloody finger over the seal markings for 2 of them.

"Naruto, Henge into me, Use the clone explosion technique on the wall with 1 of you and the other use it at the exit to the clan meeting going on now. Wait till optimum effect. Whatever you do, don't watch, You're far too young to deal with this. You will sense the chakra's coming at you. When it is done, I will be exiting through the hole in the Destroyed barrier wall. Thank You for these, I will see you in the future. Good Luck on your trip to Whirlpool. "

With that, the 2 clones slid into the afternoon shadows and made their way to their assigned positions. Itachi sat, meditated, and focused his chakra, Now 16 almost 17, being the currently strongest ANBU captain on the roster, He know he could wipe out the clan. The question was what to do with the eyes, does he gather a set or four, or does he burn the bodies in their spot, eyes never to be recovered. Chakra swirling around him, he opened his eyes, sharingan blazing. Mind made up, he made sure he had a clean storage case out of the medical kit Naruto had stolen.

Charging in, Kodachi withdrawn, a kage bunshin firing Katon after Katon, he ripped through the clan, In all, 54 out of 55 members of the clan were in the meeting room of the main clan house. The last being his parents, he turned to them, Nodded his head, and squared off against the two remaining Uchiha, when it became obvious to them they couldn't beat Itachi, they fired off Katon's of their own. Naruto's clone sensed the chakra coming his way, waited till they were 3 feet away and whispered "Boom" and with that the back half of the hall collapsed. The explosion tearing bone and muscle apart.

Itachi shook his head in amusement, "Now that's going out with a bang." Opened his container and salvaged the 2 sets of eyes of his parents. Sealing them in the medical stasis scroll in the kit, he went off to rest and wait for his brother, Spoiled little shit he was.

ANBU had soon arrived to find disaster at the clan house, beginning to search the ruins and bodies. A hour later, while the Hokage and the council was at the clan house, pondering if Itachi kept his word and left some alive trapped, Itachi had begun his search for his brother in the vast portion of the forest that was Uchiha property. Having changed clothes, walked into a clearing where his brother was practicing Jutsu.

"Hello Sasuke, Doing well?"

"Hai, I have the Great Fireball down and I'm working on the dragon."

"Show me," Getting behind Sasuke, slid his Kodachi out, and as Sasuke fired the fireball out, he ran him through. Sasuke fell quietly, A look of shock and pain on his face, But Itachi had his eyes closed, Preventing the sharingan from seeing his brother dying. Thus preventing the next evolution of the sharingan. Cleaning his blade, He extracted Sasuke's now 1 tomoe eyes into the storage case. 2 hours later he killed the Hyuga bastard's guarding the hole in the wall and left Konoha, once and for all.

Danzo, the elders and the 3rd sat in the Hokage tower the next day, piecing together the things the knew from the people involved and reports and evidence from the scenes. It wasn't pretty. Konoha no longer had the sharingan. Itachi broke his word, but the documents provided gave a full pardon as clan business. Worse. Naruto was missing. Was he with Itachi? Was it willing or forced accompaniment?

Was Naruto's Massive, yet to be cleaned prank a message to them, that they were to be laughed at, made clowns of? Too many questions, no answers, but lots of problems to solve.

As fortune would have it, Naruto had planned even farther that Itachi, He had to get the last jab in. We walked up the wall, listening to the conversation. Almost splitting a gut in held in laughter, the 3rd turned and asked him in.

"I assume you are a clone Naruto?"

"Hai, I couldn't let a prank be ignored."

"Did you do it to help Itachi? Where are you? I was worried about you?

Waving a finger in a negative wave at the gathered group. He started his final words to the 3rd he would ever speak.

"Listen well, In all my life 1 person alive treated me as a Person of value. Where were you the first 6 years of my life? Where was the healthy, fresh food? Warm clean clothes, a roof over my head?

Nowhere. Itachi cleaned me up helped me get a spot to stay(cove, but he wasn't sharing, it may be useful in the future). Your great academy rejected me, a 6 year old with Jounin chakra supply. Stealth better than ½ your ANBU. So if I could pull a prank that coincided with your planned murder of the Uchiha, so be it. I don't know why you sent Itachi to do it, and I don't care. You don't kill Loyal Shinobi. Itachi broke down and told me his mission. The least I could do is make him laugh before he cried his eyes out because of you. Itachi warned me you would murder me as well for even knowing this. As an apology for getting me killed, he told me about my parents, his Sensei and the furball in my stomach. Know this, if you come to kill me, I'll find a way to free him. Let's see someone else here sacrifice their entire family for your dumb asses after I'm gone."

Naruto's Clone thought the all time Best actor award should go to him forever for that act. As he looked at the shocked, scared faces of the 4 there. His clone dispelled.

The 3rd had dropped his pipe, ashes starting a burn hole in the Hokage robes. Danzo broke the handle on his cane. Knowing Itachi had given that second set to Naruto. Koharu and Homaru literally passed out from heart attacks. The village on the edge of destruction, all it would take is 1 mistake and they were all dead. The Uchiha, while plotting, had broken not a single law by action. The 'Murder' tag by Naruto would apply. The threat of the Kyuubi being freed was even more a potential death sentence to every man, woman and child of Konoha.

The 3rd turned to Danzo, "Leave them be, They've both left. If they move against Konoha, fine. Otherwise we're asking for death. Do not try to even track them, the risk is too big. If you do, Every person you've ever known in your life will be killed, Am I Clear?

Danzo nodded in acknowledgement.

"ANBU" the 3rd screamed, "Get the elders to the hospital, Escort Danzo-san to his home.:

After they left, the 3rd raged. Naruto, you were supposed to be your fathers greatest gift to the village, the ultimate weapon for us, Where did we fail?

On the wall, the picture of the Yondaime held a look of confusion and disbelief.

Author's Notes:

_Next Chapter is a Time skip. Flashbacks are likely. I really debated keeping Sasuke alive, but almost all fics seem to get sucked into the rivalry, and that's not what this fic is about. _


	3. Chapter 3

The Wonder Years

Two weeks had passed since Naruto's disguised walk out of Konoha. Keeping to Civilian Routes, he kept his Chakra suppressed with seal #4 of 20 of the Uzamaki Seals. He kept in the groups of merchants and families going from place to place for there he was just one of many. Each Night he would check into an inn on the road he was on, get a shower, a nice quiet meal, and a good night's sleep. Each morning, he would be up earlier than usual, Make a quick group of Bunshin for reconnaissance, searching for groups heading in the direction he was going. Once he found one, he made sure to get into conversations during the breakfast hours at the inn of the day and worm his way into travelling with them. After 3 weeks, he had made his was half-way to his goal. The tropical coasts at the far end of the continent, granted this took him away from the other elemental countries, but for now was exactly perfect for his plans. Being the furthest south, they had the fewest if any shinobi present, the fire county to the North shielded them from the other lands. Their primary economic assets had no need of shinobi. Farming, Vineyards, Orchards, Beaches, Bars and Hotels provided plenty of work, plenty of cash floating quickly and cleanly.

Now a month later, Naruto found himself at the gates of one of the larger orchards in the region, sign on the gate, "Seasonal Workers Wanted", He went in, applied and 2 hours later had his credentials. Approaching the Main store house, He found the foreman, climbed on the wagon and started what was to be Routine every morning following for the next 3 years.

Mornings were best for training, the humidity got worse as the day wore on. Up at 5, Brisk 2 hour workout, The normal body building along with Dragging weights while running for resistance, All done with his chakra suppressed. With the high quality nutritional items he could now buy, the daily 2 hour workout provided serious strength and stamina building. A quick swim for hygiene and a cool down and off to work. Get to the Orchard by 8, Work till 6. Lunch being 2 hours at the peak of sun. Arrive back at the bunkhouse for the seasonals, Change, put on his well hidden weight simulation seals. Most shinobi went for gravity seals, Not an Uzamaki. The weights were specifically tailored for speed of the extremities, hand speed and foot speed. What good were thighs and buns of steel when you were to slow to move out of the way of a death blow? While the weight seals had chakra power to keep active, he once again did this workout without the aid of chakra, 20 sprints, Timed, a short cool down, again simulating combat. Quick strike movements, followed by a long run timed, followed by 20 sprints, simulating fighting, running to the next battle, fighting again. He did this workout first for an hour the first 6 months, adding length till he could go flat out with twice his body weight on him for 2 hours.

The physical workouts without chakra allowed him to make a few bunshins a night, going to the beach late, they had ample water to learn and practice Suiton and Futon Jutsu's. Water Dragon, Water Wall, Water Bullet, Water Cyclone, Water Arm finally mastered and 1 hand sealed. Water Tsunami required full sets of seals because of the chakra draw of a massively wide, tall and deep speeding wave that would wipe out a ½ dozen city blocks instantly, whenever a rowdy crowd was in a hotel and pissed him off, that hotel almost always found it flooded from that jutsu.

The Futon of his fathers, as much as he had little faith in Konoha, he at least gained some respect for the prowess of his father. Wind Wall of Blades, Single Wind Blade, Hurricane wind wall, Wind Cyclone and the over powered Version of the Cyclone, the Wind Tornado. Mastered sealless from his wind affinity.

He loved the land, on weekends, you could, if employed there, venture into the orchards and do whatever, just no damaging the trees. He would lay there in the midday, under a shady tree, read and re-read all the Uzamaki clan scrolls. Seals, Clan history, Clan Laws, and his Mom's Journals. It allowed him to regain his sense of identity. Where Konoha had tried to take it away as a child, the stories of her own childhood gave him a sense of how his mother thought and felt on a variety of subjects. The colorful metaphors when she was mad, the poetry as she debated home versus loving his father, he grew in many ways with the journals.

His Mother's retrieval of the Seal holding the Kyuubi was what he focused on from the 4th to the 6th year after leaving. He had 3 goals for Years 12-14 for learning, the details of the seal, Could he manipulate it? Could he cut the influence on his physique from the Kyuubi? Could he alter the seal to suit what he wanted, an untraceable, undiscoverable chakra source without the grief? The seals in the Uzamaki scroll included a Medical Chakra conversion seal. Chakra control of a medic was rare in an Uzamaki, so they created a conversion seal. If he could use those, he could simulate Kyuubi healing without the visuals of the Kyuubi Chakra. His Mother had retrieved the Demonic Chakra conversion Matrices, and Mount point diagrams, but he didn't grasp a way to completely force the flow of Demonic chakra fully through whatever matrix that he designed.

Goal number two was his father's 2 non-futon jutsu. The seal s of the Hiraishin were brilliant, each kunai had an array of conversion and focus seals. Each time he pealed a layer off, a more complex layer was below. Months of Weekends would be required of dozens of Bunshin, each working on each layer to learn the design, flow, and purpose. The regular Rasengan he thought to be easy, simple chakra manipulation and control. With him having gone as far already as he has on the elementals, he felt the base Rasengan was a few months of work. The finished Rasengan with elemental infusion would probably take years; His body just wouldn't stand up to that training for quite a while with the Kyuubi seal as it was.

Goal Number 3 was more of a personal goal. What was his future? Did he really understand all he needed to? Philosophical debates erupted between clones, and they confused him greatly. They were worse when his father's memory seal kicked in. The idea that you could sacrifice everything you love for a place, versus sacrificing your place for everything you love. The Uzamaki valued family blood over everything, period. His father had valued a village and a state of mind over everything, could he choose 1 over the other? Was it right to? Was a mix of the two possible or practical? He was getting lost in the confusion. Eventually, he decided he could never get the right answer until he was in that awful situation, but that even worried him just as bad. What he didn't know was that until he had as his mother asked him to restore the clan, it wasn't important.

When his 15th birthday arrived, He packed up his belongings, bade farewell to his boss, the few acquaintances he had made, and decide to follow the coast line and see what life had to offer to him. That night, he was caught unprepared for a Tsunami was that came suddenly with no warning. The quake that spawned it was a 1000 mile away. Luckily he kept his belongings in the first storage seal his mother had put on him, so no losses occurred, but the impact had pinned him under a large amount of broken trees and debris.

He woke up in a darkly lit Black Marble hall, a red aura in the air. The aura wasn't as malevolent as he thought it would be. Nor in anytime in his meditation had he been able to get here. He knew where he was, and he had a good idea why. So he got up, marveling at the beauty of the marble, and walked towards the aura. The hallway opened up to a large hall, a set of bars with a large seal in the middle.

"Jailer, you have arrived" spoke the giant fox behind the bars.

"Yeah, but I have no idea how." Naruto muttered.

"Matters not, jailer, the seal drew you here, It is _unique_…."

"In what way?"

"It has changed, it was small, now it is large, and it has notations and runes in extremely ancient languages. I have been slowly translating."

"_______"

"Stunned are we jailer? I always thought our meeting would be the stunning moment."

"No, I've known the truth for a long time. Neither of us wants to be here. _Together_, we apparently have to make it Better. My mother and Sensei, have prepared me to begin my quest to find my place in the world. I've gotten a better education from my clan materials than most _Jounin_ have. I've trained and saved funds, I've seen the beauty a shinobi free land has. I've seen the need for shinobi in the lands of the lesser peoples. My biggest dilemma is yours as well,"

"Shall we start with what has now appeared Jailor?"

"Have you translated it?"

"Yes"

_**in aevum of proeliator, in the age of the warrior, A curator mos cado Caged per virtus, A guardian will fall, Caged by courage, A champion mos orior oriri ortus , victum vereor of populus of terra,**__** A champion will rise, overcoming the fears of the peoples of the land,**__** cado cannot exsisto resurrected, The fallen cannot be resurrected, such is the fate of those who anger the Gods, Talis est fortuna illorum quisnam ledo filiolus, novus champion must planto a novus semita , vox of cado est suus utor ut is commodo.,**____**The new champion must make a new path, The power of the fallen is his to use as he pleases, vox of cado habitum valde inflecto. champion must planto a choice,**____**The power of the fallen holds great sway. The champion must make a choice.**_

"Damn, why do I feel like a puppet here? "

"HAHAHAHAHAHA, Just a puppet Jailer? We are both puppets if I interpret this right. I wanted to break out of here, but reading that, I know if I do, I face trials that make death seem appealing. The Gods do not normally create human sacrifices; rather men create sacrifices to try to become Gods. I have been in this position once before Jailer; I was rather easily able to escape. Clearly the Gods have at least helped in the creation of this seal. There are many questions we both have to find the answers to; clearly you have already started unknowingly gathering the answers based on your own investigations"

"WHHHAAT, How?"

"Your Families seals, the seal shows those designs you have been studying, when the seal changed, Access to your knowledge was granted. They are in the seal; if you study the seal you can see the layers and mount points. But the question remains, is that all? Ponder this for some time; I will push through my chakra to heal you for now, Find shelter, rest. Come to me when you have intelligent thoughts,"

With a Bright flash, Naruto was thrown from the seal, Kyuubi chakra flaring, instantly healing his wounds. With a level of pure force he had never felt before, he dug out of the debris, trees tossed about the land like toothpicks. He dusted himself off, Activated Seal # 13 of the Uzamaki 20 and his clothes were clean and fresh. Another one of those times where looked up in the now dark sky, thanking his mother profusely, looking at the stars, wondering which one was where his mother was.

"Thank You Mom, If it wasn't for you and Itachi-Sensei, I would have been either dead or a mindless tool of the Leaf. For someone such as I to survive and grown strong and reasonably sane, Damn Clones, I think is a miracle. Even in death, you protect me from harm. "

Walking away to find a place to sleep for the night, He knew he needed some answers. His mother had mentioned Godparents in her journals; they were supposed to be there in his early years. Why weren't they? Could they have the answers to his questions? Should he assume they could answer his questions? His head started to hurt again from thinking about it.

Authors Notes:

Next Chapter is Itachi and Konoha Centric. What was the fallout of the Uchiha slaughter? Who made up the Rookie 9 without Sasuke and Naruto? How does the Akatsuki deal with a Naruto whom no one knows is alive and hasn't been seen or heard from since making the Hokage's clowns?


	4. Chapter 4

"The most difficult choice a politician must ever make is whether to be a hypocrite or a liar."

Konoha: 1 week after the Uchiha Massacre.

Sarutobi sat in his Office chair, lights off, Wisps of smoke from his pipe rising slowly into the night air, Illuminated by the moonlight shining in from the direction of the outer walls.

"You can come in Jiraiya, no need to stand on the upper ledge all night. "

"I heard of the massacre from your ANBU, what in kami's name is going on around here?

"What is the job of Kage Jiraiya?

"Depends on how stupid you want to sound, the amount of stupidity is directly relational to the country you're in. "

Frowning, taking a long slow puff on his pipe, "What is the job of the HO-Kage?"

"Defend the people, protect the country, and keep peace."

"Do you believe that Jiraiya, do you ever have doubts about your decisions?'

"All the time Sensei, all the time. When I went to Myouboku, one of the elders told me, what never has been doubted, has never been proven. We're shinobi, we fight, we kill, and we eventually die. What makes us better is fighting to protect, not in aggression."

"The Uchiha had broken no laws, only had begun to discuss their options. Madara's viewpoint was taking hold again. Sadly, this time they were right. A decision was made to murder 55 Clansmen to stop the surefire deaths of many hundreds more if they rebelled."

"So how did Itachi fit into it? Last I heard, he was a snot-nosed ANBU."

"Training your godson, he finished all of Kushina's training while teaching him. Unfortunately, he informed Naruto of everything. I have to believe right at the start of their training. Kushina's attitude is highly prevalent in Naruto. Naruto left when Itachi did, separately from what little we could track, Itachi did Kushina proud in training him. I hated that bitch, but she was one hell of a shinobi. Naruto never entered the academy, so as much as the council would like, I can't go after him. Nor is their physical evidence he ever participated in the massacre. Itachi will honor the agreement, he will never come back. Naruto has a chance if he chooses, but I doubt he will. I assume Inu told you of his exit prank?"

Slyly smiling, "Yeah, that's his mother's side. You know in some ways she was right, Minato was too soft on Iwa, They butchered Whirlpool. The civilians got peace at the cost of a lot of lives for nothing. Peace is a rare commodity, and in our world the price is often too high. Shinobi are always the ones who pay that price. Sensei, did you call me here to tell you're a genius or is there something you want me to do?"

"When Madera summoned the Kyuubi, right, wrong or indifferent, Konoha lost its way. Minato fought for the good of the masses, Kushina for husband and future family alone. Hindsight is 20/20, both ways were right, but they were mutually exclusive. Minato sacrificed his entire family for nothing. I'm too old and at this point just don't care. I want you to find Tsunade, tell her I lied about Naruto being dead. Then, go find Naruto and never come back here. I will have the paperwork ready in a few hours. I'm sorry Jiraiya, I failed your student, and I failed my students. This old horse is going to fight one more fight; you are not to be here for it. Scores to be settled, debts to be paid. Those worthy of your further trust will meet you in the Northern Farmlands. I never thanked you for letting me get out of the mess Orochi left me."

Angered Eyes, Clenched teeth, a gaping mouth, all these described Jiraiya at this moment. Not knowing what to say, nothing to say, but everything to say. He could tell the God of Shinobi was sure and was ready for his fate. An hour later he returned, not saying a word, but giving his Father figure a Long hug goodbye.

Hokage's Office: 9AM same day.

"Good Morning Hokage-sama" as a group of shinobi entered his office.

Anko Mitarashi: Chunnin, Former apprentice of Orochimaru. Shunned and mistrusted, surrogate Sister of Naruto. Was trying to date Itachi Uchiha.

Kakashi Hatake: ANBU squad captain, suspended pending discipline for drunken brawl. Reason, His Sensei's legacy gone. Considered bad luck and lazy, Genin teammates, dead, ANBU teammates, all but one dead. Family Dead. Sensei's Family dead or missing.

"I have a Mission for you two, SS-ranked, No denying it. I have scrolls for 4 clan heads here in Konoha, you are to deliver them, return to your homes, and pack everything of meaning to you in the storage scrolls available via this voucher. You will then go to the armory, Give them these orders, and head to the Northern Fire Country. You will then meet Jiraiya and Tsunade. You will follow their orders, if any, and go find Naruto. Do what you feel is right from that point on. Dismissed."

In unison. "HO"

"I said dismissed, DO not try me today."

Leaving the room, Kakashi looked back at the Hokage, "Thank You"

With a wave of the hand, Sarutobi dismissed the thanks. The gate ANBU confirmed their exit as noted in their orders, and his meetings over the next couple of hours confirmed the scroll deliveries. At 1 PM, Senior ANBU in Village, Morino Ibiki, met with the hokage. Informed of his orders, he returned to his Office, Summoning only those ANBU members trusted by him. In all 37 percent of ANBU in village would be available 11PM tonight.

Sarutobi's Morning Clan meetings yielded another 15 Jounin from the ISC team and the Inuzuka. The rest were not to be trusted.

11PM Sealed Meeting Room: Hokage Tower.

Sarutobi in his full armor strode to the podium:

"Warriors, in times past, the will of fire pulled this village together to save us all. In the present, we all see that the fire has been extinguished. On this table are your sealed orders, Pardons, signed stamped and sealed. The Hyuuga council, the civilian council, the elders and Root, along with Merchants and regular shinobi has all joined together. What you don't know is why. The Kyuubi incident was a summon attack by Uchiha Madara. The sacrifice was Minato and Kushina's son. Our foes saw him as a slave and weapon. The Uchiha massacre was arranged by them for the the Uchiha's righteous indignation at their treatment. One Uchiha was to be left alive, Itachi broke orders, refusing to give the council and elders a tailor made slave. In the end Madara was right and my sensei's mistakes haunt us to this day. I ask you to fight alongside me, fix this. If you leave, now or afterwards. Head to the Northern Fire Country. The Sannin will be there sometime. Mission start is Midnight. You have your targets. May you reignite the will of fire that once reigned justly?"

Not giving a chance to answer questions, he Shun-shined to his office, Sealed one more scroll, summoned Emna, informed him of his plans and asked his forgiveness and assistance.

That night, While waiting near the very hole in the wall Naruto created, 5 Children, Ino, Choji, Shikamaru,Kiba and Moegi, 2 genin, Hana and Kurenai, 2 ANBU inductee's: Cat, and Hawk Waited with about a dozen Inuzuka dogs, Listening to the battle rage. Around 2:30 Massive explosions demolished the Hokage tower. The Hyuuga and Root, While unable to stop the Hokage, prevented his advance to the underground Facilities. The Hokage fought alone, the forces he was able to muster split in 3 groups to get their specific goals accomplished. Each group had counter-insurgency specialist in them and the missions given by the hokage soon failed. Survivors were working their way to the waiting children. The detonation of the tower brought massive debris down pinning the Hokage underneath. Death came without regret for the first time in many years in his life.

Orders were that at 3 AM, All Personnel at the wall hole were to exit, Incomplete families or not. Survivors were necessary to renew the will of fire. Yamato, Cover name of Tenzo, appeared at 2:45. After that, No one else came. With tears and clenched fists, the small group left, Children riding on the 6 Large dogs capable of carrying them, The other 6 dogs, Including Tsume's the former clan heads dog ran perimeter along with Yamato's Mokuton bunshin.

In the morning, Danzo was named Hokage, with Hiashi Hyuuga head of the council and chief negotiator of the Leaf. All Bodies of the insurgency were burned, No funerals allowed. Thus began the Era of Pain, In Konoha and elsewhere.

Jiraiya sat in a bar in Village about 8 hours north of Konoha, when his sake glass cracked; he knew his mentor was dead. He got up, went to his hotel room and opened his orders scroll. Inside were the official documents for his trek, but also were the files on Naruto. Photos of the sealing and chamber most prominent. What immediately caught his attention was the photo of the fully drawn but yet unused seal on Naruto's infant stomach. The center of the seal was not a 4 or 5 point elephant seal, but a series of phrases in a language he had never seen. This needed investigation, at some point he had to get to the fire temple and talk to the monks. Perhaps they could decipher or at least point him in the right direction. A Letter in the scroll addressed to him from his Sensei, He opened it slowly, knowing it was his sensei's last words to Him.

Jiraiya

Tonight, I right the wrongs, either by winning and cleansing, or by losing and death. Either way, I resolve to make my amends. I have little support in this cause. A small group of refugee's should be in the Northern Country by day after tomorrow. I arranged this for Naruto's sake. Make sure they know the truth. Naruto should at least have friends from Konoha, wherever you end up. Tell Tsunade, she was the daughter I always wanted, as opposed to the one's I had that married the very foes I fight tonight. Itachi will contact you via ads in your Icha-Icha. Trust in him. Solve the mysteries of the seal, Minato didn't know Latin. I recognized the characters, but I don't know the language, no one in Konoha did.

Thank You

Hirunzen Sarutobi

Sandaime Hokage

Jiraiya reread the letter twice, turned off the lights and tried to sleep. It was going to be a long however long it took to find his godson.

Itachi

Itachi had made his was to Rain in a slow steady walk. He knew sooner or later Madara had to die, but he didn't know how to do it. His entrance into Rain was felt by Pain's jutsu. Quickly 2 Ame Ninja appeared verified his identity and led him to the tower. Introductions were short and quickly enough he was led to Madara's Quarters.

"Madara-sensei"

"Itachi, Sit, cup of tea?"

"Yes, Please, The rain chills the bones quickly here. As requested, I verified the seal several weeks before leaving. Your doubts were correct. The 4th did not use a standard seal to imprison the Kyuubi. Your jutsu illuminated the seal. Instead of Normal seal structure as you documented for the inspection. An Image of a lock and key, with Phrases in a language I could not identify appeared. Naruto was not informed of the seal structure from his mother, nor did any and all of the seal notes left to him contain them. Therefore you must assume, the 4th arranged this. I will say I did get a shiver and sensation I never want to have again, I felt the Kyuubi went it attacked, it wasn't the Kyuubi. This chilled me more than I have ever been."

"Very Well, The plan will need to change; obviously the 4th took the Shodaime's seal notes for the Shinigami summoning and implanted them in the seal. The Lock and key symbolizes the prison, the Language is the key, and did you memorize it?"

"Yes, Madara-sensei. "

"If they are what I think they are, The Kyuubi is now the property of the Shinigami. It is out of our reach. We may need to negotiate with several parties not anticipated, Can you do this?

"Yes, Madara-Sensei"

"Very Well, finish your tea; we must visit the temples of the elemental countries for our answers."


	5. Chapter 5

The Truth shall set you free – What a crock.

Jiraiya's luck sucked, really really sucked. He had walked into the perfect deathstorm. A group of kids and 3 worn out ANBU, A frazzled Suspended ANBU, a _Slightly_ Nuts Orochi wannabe, and last but not least a sobering Pissed off former teammate and her apprentice. The storm started with the Pair catching him as he was walking into town. So he stopped, sat down told them the pertinent facts of the here and now, Finding Tsunade. Walking into town the trio sat at a small café, ordering Dango and green tea to recharge the batteries. 15 minutes later a rag tag group was walking past, stopping and staring, Kakashi jumped up, Tenzo facing him, and in unison shouted "YOU!" and shook hands. The group pulled up another table, pulled out their orders and Jiraiya's eyebrows were twitching furiously. He thought to himself, the only thing that could make this worse would be his former teammates showing up here and now. Looking up, he saw a man flying by him, thinking , Oh Kami no, please no. At then after opening his eyes stood his former teammate, her frazzled apprentice and a pig?? Oh dear Kami, kill me now. Standing there tapping her foot, She looked at the group in confusion, what the hell is this?

"Jiraiya, did you open an ANBU daycare?" At that, the 7 genin and younger looked at her, if glares could kill, she'd be dead.

"Sit down Tsunade, I have information for you. Least of all, I believe Sensei is dead."

4 bottles of Sake, 1 Black eye later, The story was told.

"All right Pervert, how do you want to do this?"

"We Leave the kids somewhere safe, split into 2 teams, rotating training the brats, and searching for Naruto. It's best if we split you and I to keep 1 Sannin in the field, You know Kushina's habits better. I can start the kids off better and leave you a good start point for finer control. "

Ino, being the loudest of the kids, "SO let me get this straight, The Kyuubi is alive, The 4th's son is our age out here alone and is the jailer, Our parents sent us away to find him. And we may never go home? Who was the idiot that set this up?"

Pinching her nose, Tsunade growled, "If you had LISTENED little girl, all of the original players are dead, so don't piss me off. "

Looking at Jiraiya, "So Itachi trained him? How good is the Brat?"

"He's estimated at mid Chunnin in Normal skills, but he's had over a year and a ½ with Kushina's stuff, plus it's thought he cleaned out Minato's house, either he did or Kushina did, either way he has access to several S-class Jutsu. Kage level Chakra supply and the Kyuubi. Anything short of a full squad of ANBU will be in trouble against him; we have time to find him the right way. We'll find someplace to get them settled, and work out the plans better, In the meantime, I've already got toads working in concentric circles."

Paying the tab, the rag-tag group, the total legacy of generations of shinobi who fought for peace, made their way to find a large house, sort out the sure to come tears when the kids got their scrolls explaining their families wishes, and get back in shape. That alone would take several weeks of work.

Ame, Fire, Cloud Border.

Madara had called Pain to the border for a rushed meeting. Itachi was prompted to retell his information, Under intense scrutiny of both the Rinnengan and the Sharingan. Several Moments after the conclusion, Pain spoke disappointedly.

"The gods, the Elder gods have gotten involved, most disturbing. Do they not want peace? We need to know what the seal said and what it says know, My paths are researching and the only documentation on Elder god intervention is that only the one whom was intervened for knows everything. The 4th's son may not know now, but someday he will when he and the Kyuubi meet. If we can't get the Kyuubi, we must at least know why the gods intervened."

"I Concur, my student has an interesting theory. One that goes against conventional thought of our plans. Certainly, the actions of Konoha in the last weeks of Itachi's presence there justify his thoughts."

Looking sharply at Itachi, Pain waved his hand in a hurry up and tell me wave.

"How should I start, better yet, I should start at the beginning of Naruto's Life. Born of parents of royalty, One of whom valued family over all, His mother would go rogue in an instant to protect the family. What value does that represent? Love. The parent who valued his village, dies for it. The parent who dies for love, enables her child to grow and be safe with guidance. What do you want the Bijuu for? To eventually kill people who would also die for love, protecting their families. Thus the gods stopped the Kyuubi from ever being available. Certainly capturing the other Bijuu hosts is practical, just to make sure they cannot do the same. We all know the other hosts weren't created for love, nor trained because of it. Perhaps we can gain some favor in our goals if we can extract the Bijuu without killing them. We can't be for sure until the original seal is deciphered and I can talk to Naruto again. I felt what I believe was the presence of the Shinigami in the seal.

Naruto himself is a interesting boy, He learned at an unnatural rate even for kage bunshin training. He's deeply intuitive, has a great interest in moral inplications of Shinobi. He hates shinobi, but trains and learns to be stronger, faster, smarter than the best Kages. This yields another interesting question, Is he the changing point, His attitudes coincide with ours, the end of the age of shinobi. I didn't teach him that, he came up with that on his own."

Madara poked up at this point, "One way or another, we have to at least talk to him, and examine the seal. If we do it peacefully, he might co-operate more. We have a lot of work to do. We should find the other Bijuu for now. Continue to gather funds. Pain, we may need to consider changing how your troops are trained, Take a percentage of the Bounty funds and start making them more professional. Itachi, go with him, Team up with Kisame. If you find Naruto, approach him peacefully and continue training him. Relay all information back to adjust our plans, He may end up the 10th member of the Akatsuki replacing Orichimaru. Send Kakuza and Hidan out, we need every bounty we can get, Focus on current leaf shinobi, The rogues of the leaf embarrass them. I will research my old home of the Mist, then Iwa."

With that Madara pulled Itachi aside, "Go, Zetsu will relay my orders. Pain's are to be ignored."

With that the leaders of Akatsuki split. None of them would find Naruto until he found the pair of Itachi and Kisame many years later. They would start their collections by the time Naruto was 14, thus revealing their presence to the world. By that Time, Ame would have trained a force that was well-trained, well-rested and well-known. Participating in Several Chunnin and Jounin exams, while selective integrating Missing-nin whom adapted into their forces well. They would be the Top non-major five force in the elemental countries in 7 years, add the Akatsuki to that force, they could tackle a major power and expect to win.

3 months later:

Wave, the Konoha refugee group had negotiated a mutual defense agreement with the mayor of the only town left standing in Wave after the 2nd Shinobi war. The group would defend the Island, Jiraiya would take a couple of months to provide Security, Detection and Defense seals allowing them to build a bridge to the mainland, Several years earlier than planned. The islanders in turn, would pay a reasonable monthly fee, provide a private training area, and respect the privacy of their hired defenders.

With that set, the ANBU, Sannin and the others would divide into pairs on a rotational basis.

Tsunade, with Kurenai

Shizune with Cat, revealed to be Yugao Izuki

Kakashi with Chouji

Hana With Gecko Hayate , the now revealed partner of Cat

Anko with Ino

Tenzo with Shikamaru

And Jiraiya by himself.

Tsunade's pair would leave first, Shizune's 4th, that way a skilled medic was always in Wave.

The Inuzuka dogs would be split in groups of 3, With one with the away group at all times to track if needed.

As the letters and orders had requested, all Konoha Symbols were removed from clothing and weapons.

Author's Note:

_A little bit shorter chapter, But I didn't think the average reader needed filler. This chapter Details the course the 2 renegade groups of the Shinobi world charted until the real action starts. Next Chapter answers what Naruto did during the Off Seasons. Mostly a filler chapter until Itachi, Kisame meets Naruto's little band of brothers and a poker game breaks out. _


	6. Chapter 6

Dare to be naïve or how I learned to be a silent killer. Part 1.

Location: Large Restaurant in Suna

Timeframe: 5 months after the Attack on Konoha during the Chunnin exams.

Naruto Uzamaki sat in the Restaurant reading the local rag looking at the various news articles and personals ads. For the first time since his departure from Konoha, he had left the perfection of the Southern Provinces during the off-season. He had just started the last portions of his 3 goals. He had made progress. He now understood a great portion of the seals of the Kyuubi, he needed some cross-reference materials to check his work and verify it. The Rasengan base jutsu was finished, But elemental inclusion was difficult, it tended to go unstable quickly. He believed he needed more chakra control and a better feel for it to work. Philosophically, he was somewhat content with himself that was going to be tested shortly.

This was a learning vacation for him, One thing Itachi had stressed was you can never stop learning, If you do, become predictable, Uzamaki were never predictable. Reading the local rag, he saw all the news about Suna's negotiated victory. Apparently the Godaime Hokage, Danzo had been killed during Suna's co-invasion with the Sound. Without leadership, Konoha was occupied by Suna.

* * *

During the initial battle, The Kazekage attacked the hokage, losing his arms. The Kazekage was revealed to be Orochimaru. He fled shortly thereafter, taking his troops with him. With all Kage's not being alive or in the field, the senior Suna Shinobi called a truce, with his troops occupying Konoha until the Suna Senior Council made their decisions. Konoha's remaining clans, along with the remains of a Decimated Jounin Corps, sent search parties out for a group of Leaf Nins rumored to be in Wave. They had offered the Hokage slot to the group, the response they got wasn't what they expected, A giant toad, dropped the bodies of the group sent at the gate and dropped a scroll for the new council of Konoha and the Senior Council of Suna.

To the Councils of Konoha and Suna,

Your generous offer to take a leadership post of the country of fools is rejected. Suna may send its Shikaku host to wave to have his seal inspected and adjusted if needed. Suna may send him and 2 escorts to be met at the Great Hope Bridge for escort into Wave Proper. Any Konoha Nins approaching Wave will be killed on sight, no questions asked. 8 years ago, Konoha slaughtered a clan for nothing; we have the proof provided by the Sandaime. Konoha abused and mistreated the son of their greatest hero whom saved them from the Kyuubi by being born. It is justice for Konoha to be a Suna territory. Wave will support Suna and agree to a treaty with Suna if Wave is accepted as the fifth Major village. We have a vast advantage economically, and after your mass butchering of each other a near equality numerically and vast advantage in current quality.

Signed,

Tsunade of the Sannin, Shodaime Namikage.

Suna responded with great enthusiasm over the response, Konoha's civilians were terrified. The Sannin had abandoned them because of the Uchiha and the now revealed Demon brat being the Namikaze heir. Suna Nins preyed upon the civilians, Men of working age engaged in cleaning up the mess and rebuilding to the Occupying Troops satisfaction. Civilian Women and girls of age disappeared; Most assumed they were sent to Suna to repopulate their Forces for the future. Male children were enrolled in Shinobi and Samurai training. The Daimyo of Fire was dead, The Wind Daimyo seizing the opportunity to occupy the capitol of Fire and claiming it as Part of Wind Country. Five months had passed since the battle and the Godaime Kazekage was about to meet the Shodaime Namikage for the final treaty Signing.

As Naruto sat there reading the Paper, 3 Suna Nins sat there watching him. On the table they were at, was a Bingo book. In there, they were looking at the first entry of its type.

Civilians of Interest:

Reward for information and location of Naruto Uzamaki Namikaze:

Status: Civilian

Age 14:

Description: Height and Weight unknown:

Eyes: Cerulean Blue

Hair: Blond

Distinguishing Features: 3 Whiskers on each Cheek.

Background: Left Konoha age 7 ½ during Uchiha Massacre, Wanted for questioning. Trained by Uchiha Itachi. Known to have Materials to learn many B-S ranked Jutsu. Estimated Ranking if Shinobi, A-class Jounin. Approach peacefully, attempt intelligence operations, and do not engage in battle.

Reward for Information: 50000 Ryou Payable by Wave.

Reward for Delivery unharmed: 200000 Ryou payable by Wave.

* * *

The trio at the table had just returned from 3 months in Wave. Now a true family again, Gaara the bearer of Shikaku's burden was now much better and sane. Kankarou, the puppet user, learned seals and poison's from several people in wave, thus making his puppets much more dangerous. The Young woman at the table was often found with the Namikage. They hit it off immediately because the Namikage was constantly reminded of Naruto Namikaze's mother by just about everything Temari did. All three had heard numerous stories of the young man's parents, and all three felt they owed Wave, the Namikage and the group of powerful shinobi a great debt for their compassion to Gaara and the training they received as part of the treaty. Deciding to interrupt, Temari walked over to the young man Tapped him on the shoulder, and stood there tapping her foot. A huge grin breaking out over her face as the whiskered young man turned to face her.

"Yes?"

"Want to buy me lunch?"

Sweat-dropping briefly, "Um, Why?"

"Shouldn't a young man in a strange place, buy a stranger lunch to learn their way around?"

"What makes you say I'm in a strange place?"

"All the dark clothing in the desert."

"Oh….So…I'm Kyu…Nice to meet you"

"Temari, Temari of the Sand….. So what brings Mr. dressed in black and mysterious to our humble village?"

"Vacation.. Off-season for my job, Figured I'd head out of town, Visit places I've never been, Work on my hobbies, Visit a bunch of new libraries, maybe meet a pretty girl. "smiled Naruto with a bright grin Temari almost melted to.

Over at the table her brothers were watching intently, looking for hostile intent, finding none they got up walked over and coughed.

"Oh, hey guys, these are my brothers, Gaara and Kankarou."

"Oh, Hey, I'm Kyu"

"Hey"

"Hello, I'm Gaara, You have a strong aura to you, and do you know how to spar?"

Sweat-dropping, Pondering exactly what the hell was going on, he couldn't sense any mal-intent on their part, other than being over-protective brothers, "I'm not a ninja, I couldn't possibly spar with you guys. But if you guys want to teach me stuff, that's cool. But how about we finish lunch", Folding up his paper and putting in the shoulder bag he was traveling with. "I hadn't heard anything about Konoha and you guys, Can you fill me in?"

"You must live under a rock," even though a negative comment, Temari stated it with a smile, She found herself getting lost in those bright blue eyes that were filled with calm, She hoped to Kami they were right, 3 months of stories about the Namikaze's were spellbinding.

"Nah, I live in the sticks, my job and my own being nutty about physical fitness, along with a maddening impulse to study every book I can, takes all my time, so I never get into the news."

3 hours later, the group broke up, with Gaara, Temari and Naruto looking for a good hotel for him to stay. Checking in, He promised to meet them for lunch after his morning excursion to find the library.

In his room, he thought about the smiles, and the way Temari kept putting her hand on his at the table. "So that's what its like, Wow, I could get used to that. Wonder if the library has old books about the Demonic chakra barriers. "

At the Kazekage tower, the sand trio reported, The Godaime excusing them from all other duties, their main focus was to be the newly arrived Kyu. Gaining him for Suna, if he was what they thought he was, was an S-class priority.

At the hotel, a Maid sent a message to her superior, the son of the Yellow Flash Sighted, Awaiting orders.

The next day, Gaara, Temari, and Kankarou met Kyu at the same restaurant, in his bag were several books he had purchased relating to Demonic Chakra, Sealing, and Wind Jutsu.

"Interesting Reading for a civilian"

"Hobbies, they relax me, someday, I'll make a living off this stuff."

"ahh, planning ahead, We need to get you some good looking White clothes, Then we're going to go watch the sunset from the wall, and my brothers are going to leave us alone or I'll beat them with my battle fan."

All 3 males at the table sweat-dropped yet again, and then Naruto replayed that statement in his mind and blew Tea out his nose coughing afterwards.

After Lunch, The man known as Kyu, was dragged to every store and stall in Suna, he had decided to make a game of it, Modeling all kinds of clothing from dress to battle, reactions from Temari ranging from mild blushes to flat out drooling with the dress Evening Wear.

That evening, sitting on the roof of the hotel Naruto was at, Temari figured she had nothing to lose, she turned to Naruto.

"Kyu, can I call you your real name?"

Turning to Temari, "What do you mean?"

"Listen, I Know you don't trust me all that much, but, we aren't going to share your Identity with anyone. My brothers and I spent 3 months in Wave, and I heard so many stories from Tsunade, and when we saw you, I just knew I had to meet you. You have my word, and the word of my lame ass brothers we won't share. Tsunade told so many stories about Kushina; she is your mother right?"

Stepping out of the shadow, Gaara quickly acknowledged that yes he was there to protect his sister, but to possibly meet a Bijuu holder as well, 3 Months in wave made him curious as well as to how he managed to get through everything he went through and still came out as well developed as he appeared.

Deciding, based on the longing look of Temari's, he took the first chance in his life and trusted someone other than his Sensei. His mother had written in her journals that all love was a chance, and her smile was just intoxicating.

Sticking his hand out, "Hi, I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzamaki."

Four hours later, he felt he had won the lottery, 2 new friends, and people he didn't have to hide his identity to.

In Iwa, 3 days later, a messenger arrived at the Intelligence & Defense headquarters. The decoder paled when he read the message, flagging a Chunnin, he ordered her to deliver this to the head of Intel, interrupt him if necessary. Use the S-class code to get into his office if in a meeting. 2 hours later the Tsuchikage stood in front of a specialized ANBU squad.

"You have trained for this for years, Akatsuki's request for information demands he be kept alive and unharmed. You will infiltrate Suna, Capture and restrain the Namikaze and perform the jutsu in your mission scrolls. Any permanent wounds to him from your group are considered mission failure. As much as I want him dead, Akatsuki would destroy us if you screw up. Akatsuki will be sending observers to verify mission integrity.

He paused, "Don't fail me; If you do, don't come back, your families will be dead. Dismissed."

With that the team left, they would travel at top speed to the Wind country border, switch to civilian clothing and travel by civilian routes and transport. Their mission phase 2 would start in Suna in a week.


	7. Chapter 7

Dare to be naïve or how I learned to be a silent killer. Part 2.

Lying in bed in his hotel room, Naruto once again had trouble sleeping, so he did what he normally does when he can't sleep. Getting up sitting on the rug in front of the bed, he fell into his meditation; He then started replaying each and every thing he did that day. Normally he used this to find errors in his training, or when something just was not sitting right subconsciously. When he got to the roof and Temari, he immediately smacked his forehead, damn, damn, damn. He was so drawn to her, he ignored the hundreds of things he could have done, and thought with his tool. Damn naïve hormonal teenage years, why didn't his mother warn him of this? She did everything else.

Pulling out his mother's journal, he thumbed through pages he hadn't read in a few years. Finding the section, he reread the paragraph.

_I met a young man today. We were almost to Konoha. When I saw his smile, All the world changed, I know we were using codenames, but when he asked me mine, I stupidly gave him my real name, damn, damn,damn. Nothing I can do now, I will have to chance it, if it comes back to bite me, Konoha will have another victim of a spy from Iwa._

Oh, crap, she did the exact same thing I did. Now what do I do?

* * *

The next morning found Naruto in the Hotel gym. Usually shinobi only, He decided to go anyways. Running track overhead, He estimated he needed 200 laps to get his usual run in. Already astounding the few Travelers using the gym, He jumped from the overhead to the main floor of the gym and decided to use the weight set. He had never seen one before, and found it fascinating. 'Wow, if they have these back home, I need to find a way to get into the hotel, either that or a second job to get employee access.'

Now 10 AM, he quickly showered, dressed and left to go back to the library. Books he had requested should have been pulled from storage already. Suna's library was small. So they kept an index of the books and storage sealed the books themselves till requested. This also allowed interested parties to know what was being checked out.

Getting his book, he sat down at a table in the corner, Light on the wall overhead. Looking at this it detailed Suna's demonic containment seal. The only problem he could see was it failed half the time, the seal failed to account for variations in affinities and amounts of chakra demon's had. Still it was more than he had hoped for, Pulling out his notebook, he spent 2 hours tracing the seals, and writing down all the notes on the specific characters in the seal.

Done with this book, he opened the 2nd book he had requested, Weapons and forging. It was getting expensive, to have fresh Kunai and shuriken smuggled home. If he could at least learn how, maybe he could come up with a cost effective alternative. Building Maintenance in the hotels had forges to fabricate parts that weren't available, plus the farms all had forges, Sure seemed like a good idea for untraceable weapons.

Reading and Note taking took the better part of the day. It was nearly 4pm when he left the library. He was hungry, his eyes hurt, he just wanted to take a break, seeing a small restaurant across the street, and he went in and ordered. This time. He felt eyes on him that he didn't like the feel of. He ate quickly, paid and calmly walked out the door. Turning in a semi circle, he was looking for a path that led to less travelled streets, if this set of eyes had evil intentions, and then maybe it was time for his first kill. He had already made the same mistake his mother had, and he hoped whoever this was, wasn't related to it. Temari was just too pretty to kill.

Heading away from his hotel, He rounded a corner into an alley several blocks away from the library. Dumpster in the middle, in was perfect. Seal less shadow clone to stand at the alleyway entrance, a shunshin to the roof above. 2 men came from opposite ends of the street from the clone. Clearly a team, so where were the rest of them? They couldn't get to the roof tops on mobile chase across streets without using shunshin, he hadn't sensed chakra use. Peering off the roof, in a henge of a maintenance worker supervisor, he had several clones making like a painting crew coming off the roof in standard scaffolding kept there. 'Good, they're buying it' as the now unaware to their exposure Intel team closed in on the alleyway.

As the lead two made their way to the clone, one shoved a needle into the clone, the clone burst. The smoke was intentionally excessive to cover Naruto's shunshin down to grab a startled Needleman. Up on the roof, knowing he couldn't interrogate the man there, he pulled out a modified scroll and sealed the man in it. Quickly, as that was being done, the clones in the scaffolding de-henged and made a break in separate directions, drawing the remaining 3 team members with. He bolted to the rooftop access to the building, taking the appearance on a non-descript office worker, and calmly walked down and out the front door of the building. Heading to his hotel, he found Temari waiting alone in the lobby for him.

"Well, isn't that convenient." He thought.

"Hi Temari, waiting for someone special?"

Smacking him on the shoulder and blushing, "No, just you."

"I have a package scroll I need to study, want to come help?"

"Going to his room, they entered, and Naruto pulled out and slapped on the wall Silence and Barrier seals. "

"Why the seals Naruto?"

"Oh, I need to study who is in the scroll, See if he's one of yours or if I have to go hunting."

"Who is? One of ours? What are you talking about."

Quickly unsealing the scroll, the yet unknown agent appeared. "This fine gentleman was part of a 4 man team stalking me today. I don't appreciate being stalked, bad things happen to those who stalk me. "

Temari paled at the KI being exuded, she prayed to Kami, that Baki-sensei hadn't ordered a team." I don't know of any team from Suna covering you Naruto, No one from Suna except for family knows you're here. Trust me; we will need to know who this is to."

"If Suna comes up clear, you can have him, but I want to memory seal any memory of my identity he may have."

"Fair enough, Can I go get Baki-sensei? He's the Kazekage; maybe have him get a team to interrogate properly? Legally you're a civilian; you can come and go as you please. Plus ask yourself this; in the short time we've spent together, do you think I'd betray you?"

Walking over, he looked her straight in the eye, seeing no deception, He nodded, "I'll tie him up. Don't take long, His teammates are out there."

45 minutes later, a knock on the door was answered by a clone. Seeing who it was opened the door and admitted Temari, Gaara and the Kazekage.

"Kyu-san, I thank you for capturing this spy, Suna has no operations related to you, I have a team on the roof to take him to Interrogation. Temari and Gaara will inform you of any discoveries."

"I thank you for your assurances, Kazekage-sama. But forgive me if I'm a little skeptical about this. "He knew he was in a bad way, the only way out right now was the window. Tight, but still he had to plan if this went south.

"If it makes you feel secure, I can assign Temari and Gaara as a detail for you as thanks for catching a spy and exposing 3 others. "

Looking at Temari, Naruto could sense no ill intent. "Thank You Kazekage-sama, it will be more than adequate. Please let me know if there's anything you can share from them."

* * *

Later that night:

Near the gate entrance, Kankarou was walking the perimeter for his night rounds, from the shadows, A voice called out,"So my student, what have you learned?"

"Sasori-sama, the subject matches the description of the bingo book. The team you imported from Grass to test him failed to capture him. He passed the first test by capturing and handing over the spy to the Kazekage. The other 3 were captured shortly after interrogation began. The subject's clones led them into traps where Suna Shinobi was in groups in public."

"What of his abilities?"

"Other than shunshin and his clones, no other shinobi skills were shown. He has purchased books on sealing and wind manipulation. His capture of the spy and traps of the other three indicate ANBU level stealth and planning on the fly."

"Anything else I should know?"

"My sister is interested in him, my brother the Shikaku host has also befriended him, The Kazekage has assigned them as his guards as thanks for catching your team."

"Very Well, Return to your duties, I will meet you in 2 weeks at this spot."

And with that, Kankarou continued on his rounds, Sasori slid into the dark.

A week passed by rather quickly from that point for Naruto. Temari made him smile like he hadn't in a long time. It reminded him of his training with Itachi, Someone to talk to without covering everything. Gaara, well, when he wasn't stoic, opened up and they shared moments of their early childhood, common factors were people and Shinobi could be really stupid, and that thankfully each had someone to care for them.

Entering his hotel room after the 2nd spar of the day in the private Sabaku training grounds, he never noticed the genjutsu that was hiding the Iwa team in his room. Caught by surprise with a chakra suppression seal, He was tied up and knocked out.

The team picked him up and made their way out of the building. Unluckily for them, Gaara had several sand clones watching Naruto.


	8. Chapter 8

Dare to be naïve or how I learned to be a silent killer. Part 3.

Last Episode:

Entering his hotel room after the 2nd spar of the day in the private Sabaku training grounds, he never noticed the genjutsu that was hiding the Iwa team in his room. Caught by surprise with a chakra suppression seal, He was tied up and knocked out.

The team picked him up and made their way out of the building. Unluckily for them, Gaara had several sand clones watching Naruto.

Gaara created one more clone to run back to the Sabaku compound, Sand clones ate up his prepared sand quickly, sure he could get a ready supply on a whim, but it cost chakra, He wanted to conserve as much as he could. The clone would go get Temari and both would go to confront the Kazekage and see if they were being lied to. Taking up a spot across the street where he could get cover, he prepared his sand eye to examine the building his new friend was in.

Naruto had woken up shortly after arrival, sitting in a dark room, He kept his eyes closed and concentrated. What can I learn? Crap, chakra suppressed, Ropes at least, I can cut these if I have time. Focusing on his chakra core, he swirled his chakra. Good, I can overpower these seals as well, Focus, Focus, feel the variations, the seals are there………………..Gotcha, …….They underestimated me. ….Listen….Listen…..Thank Kami for Itachi's training…4, Skilled, they suppress there steps. What are they after? …Options……..Break out now….clean getaway, no Intel. Wait it out, Intel….have to fight my way out of unknown surroundings and Possibly seal prepped battleground…….Damn, What would Mom, Or the wonder Kage do in these circumstances?....Gotta think…..

Meanwhile, unknown to Naruto or his kidnappers, an Infrared camera in the vent under a genjutsu was watching the scene intently. The camera's line was fed to follow the power lines. Tightly bound where no one would notice. The fed to a second safe house 2 house over. Inside, Sasori and Zetsu watched intently.

"For one so young and untrained by professionals since childhood, He's good. If it wasn't for one twitch, No one would know he was awake, the twitch was so minor, only an interrogation expert would notice."

"My student has done well preparing the field. Our proxies will be a good test of his skills, plus we might get lucky and see the seal. "

"We won't interfere?

"Not for now. Leader-sama's orders were to observe and test. Apparently the plan is in flux, because of the boy. He has never exhibited the Kyuubi; it may be locked down so tightly it can't be removed. We need to slowly ramp up pressure and see if he can draw its chakra, and if he does what control he has."

"What of the Iwa Nin? Are they to be left alive?"

"Leave no evidence"

Back in the room, Gaara had formed a sand eye in the room, a set of Suna ANBU, and the Kazekage having seen Gaara's Position joined him.

"Kazekage-sama, There are 4 Iwa nin in the building. 2 are securing the building. 2 are gathering Chakra, for what purpose, I don't know."

"How long do we have?"

"Maybe 10 minutes from what I've seen. My eye scouted the prisoner first, I have sand going through the ducts to reform and scout the other rooms."

"Let's let this play out some, we need to know why, and I suspect so does our young friend."

Naruto started sliding out his Sleeve hidden Blade. Kept in the seam of his jacket sleeve on each side, he was prepared for escape. The blade, similar to an old fashioned switch blade the hotel security carried, Popped out under pressure vertically, 3 inches long, razor sharp on both side, more like a dagger. It only took a minute to cut the rope. 'They must be in one hell of a hurry; I'd have stripped me first. ……….Other option, they know and want to beat me down…..

Ropes falling off, he felt the 2 seals easier with his internalized chakra, concentrated and burned them off.

"Even more impressive, a well hidden blade, 2 of those ANBU searched him and never found it. The restriction seals are Iwa's best and he burned them off like nothing. His Chakra control is excellent and must be huge to burn those off."

"Maybe Leader-sama will change his plans and invite him to Akatsuki?

"Too early to speculate, He hasn't shown us the skills yet."

"Ok, 4 of them, 2 up 2 down. Kill all 4, No…..don't be stupid….calm down………..'

Making a clone to henge into a captive vision of himself, He kept his cool, kept his chakra suppressed and placed himself behind the door. The ceiling was a typical 2 story house, the finished interior matching the roof, giving him an ideal point to slide up the wall and stage his counter. As the pair walked in, He leapt off the wall. Chakra enhanced kick catching the first on the side of the head, knocking him out instantly. Spinning on his left foot following through in a circle with his kick, he thanked Kami he had practiced, and practiced, and practiced this for 3 years with clones. Appearing instantly, though stronger than he wanted due to adrenalin flow, a fully changed Rasengan plowed right through the other. Blood, Bone, lung, and other bodily components splattering the wall. His arm still in the man, he gagged, turned his head and slowly let the instantly dead man off avoiding the telltale thump of the body falling.

'Can't let this get to me, 2 down, 2 to go. Kami, I need a shower. Hope they have towels. Focus….Focus…'

Quickly reusing the chakra ropes, he hogtied and stuffed his partner's bloody shirt in his mouth to keep him silent. Moving to the door, cracking it open, He let his senses, open up some more.

'They were somewhat prepared; Chakra barriers on the walls, much clearer picture now with the door open a crack. Large first floor, 2 exits, 6 windows. They have the advantage, SHIT,…think..Think….is there a bathroom up here? closing the door, he crept back and smiled……Silent death it is then'…Pulling the tank lid off, He propped the flapper to keep it running and flushed. Quickly turning on the water of the sink. He maxed out the hot water….

"What the hell is he doing? Asked Temari after Gaara had reported the action.

The Kazekage smiled, "The return of 2nd legend in one fight. Hidden Mist Jutsu's. Our friend's mother was from Whirlpool. Where do you think The Mist got their jutsu? He's going to get up close and personal. Does he have a sword Gaara?

"No he just unsealed 2 oversized Knives similar to the one he cut through the rope with."

Cracking the door open, He flashed through 1 hand seals for this jutsu; He hadn't gotten to sealless level yet with it. "Someday, when I meet Mom in the afterlife, first thing I do is kiss her." The mist was heavy and thick in the room, opening the door, it poured out on the now aware Jounin. Waiting a good 5 second count, to exit the room, it was a fair fight, 3 men entered, 1 or 2 at best would leave, Vision obscured, The first thing the one nearest the exits did was try and open a window. Big mistake. Naruto had noted his position and the layout of the room, He shunshined behind the man scrambling to clear the room.

"Boy, they sure panic quick. Itachi had me spar him blindfolded for hours. "He thought as the elongated dagger slid into the man's back, lifting up and to his right, He could feel the Kidney split and the knife penetrate the intestine, the smell of digestive fluids pouring out the wound. Pivoting instantly on his right foot, pulled the man in front of him to shield himself from the sword strike coming from his partner.

"This one is good, he spotted his partners mistake and took advantage at the right place, just a hair slow. Pushing the dead man's body at his foe, Naruto had 4 Bunshins appeared, Knives in each hand. They charged the last nin, 1 high, 1 low, 1 high, 1 low. It was an elaborate dance, ducking, jumping, ducking and jumping to avoid Naruto's strikes. Each miss followed by a rotational back strike with the other knife in left hand of each clone.

"Gotcha now, you're a dead man". As the last elaborately planned strike missed by his clones, Naruto's knife penetrated the man's skull, Death being instant. . "Aw shit"….as the adrenalin left him, he turned his head, hands on his knees, and puked up acid and water, having not gotten a chance to eat,

The second monitor in the room covered the first floor.

"Kisame would be so disappointed, the boy does the Hidden mist better that he does, but doesn't have Red Death's sword."

"Yes, Quick kills, kept the fight contained in the building. Time for the Interrogation test, yes?"

Across the street, the gathered Suna Nin were impressed with the skill shown.

The Kazekage was laughing, "Must have been first kills, My My, he is a talented young man. You should date him Temari."

Temari blushed and then glowered at her Kage, with a huff, "Gaara, what's he doing now?"

"It appears he wants answers, He rinsed off his hands and face and has moved upstairs. The hogtied man is back in the chair our friend was in. I will continue to observe."

Punching the man awake, Naruto stood in front of the last Nin, Blood in his mouth and running down his chin from the shirt. Pulling the shirt from his captive's mouth, The Nin spit and gagged on the flesh and blood still in his mouth.

Slapping his captive's face, 'Wakey,Wakey, Ninja snakey, what the fuck do you think you were doing grabbing me?"

"Fuck Off, boy"

"Wrong answer", 2 Clones appeared, one grabbing his captive's arm, the other grabbing a finger and pulling it back flush with the back of his hand. "Now, we are going to play a game, Here's the rules, You give me a straight answer, You don't get a finger gone, Because now that the tendons and muscle is destroyed in that finger, it's easier to cut off, You lie, I Break another finger, You lie again I cut it off.' A clone's knife slammed down, captives palm to arm rest as the finger flew off from the strike. "Now, just because I'm young doesn't mean I can't read. So let's make this as easy as can be, yes?" It took a full hand of digits, to break the man, Urine and Feces smell all over him.

'Fuck, Iwa …damn that demon sealing assclown…hell, Now I need to finish deciphering the Hiraishin, Only damn original work he does and it's damn near impossible. Firing up a Rasengan, he put the man out of his misery. 'How to torch this place? Making clones, he had them drag both bodies to the main floor, Rifling the Iwa nins gear, ah, most excellent, Orders, and Iwa made weapons, excellent future distractions. Going into the kitchen the only flammable there was Floor polish and oven cleaner. "Obviously, rental property, Hope the owner is insured. Covering the bodies with floor polish and the cleaner, he used the only katon he knew from Itachi and started a small fire. Moving to the back door, exiting he summoned up a huge whirlpool of Futon Chakra, The flames exploded the containers adding to the maelstrom. In seconds, a campfire size blaze was roaring through the house.

"Across the street, The Kazekage watched as the house burned down, the evidence gone, except for what the young man had in his possession. He had a problem now, the young man was supposed to be guarded, yet was taken, how does he play that off. Surely the boy will be far less open now, and he didn't know how to reassure him Suna hadn't co-operated with Iwa given previous history.

The Sabaku's had left immediately after Gaara put the fire out with his sand. Both impressed and scared at how quickly Naruto had turned that around. Temari still upset over the Kazekage's teasing pondered reappearing at the hotel. A first kill can be tough; Naruto might need to talk about it.

"Itachi will be most interested in these events, Zetsu, return to base and inform Leader-sama. Let Itachi watch the videos, see what his critique is of the transpired events is. I will stay here, Have my spies probe for more information, see if I can arrange another test, that is if the boy doesn't make the right choice and stay in Suna."

"I wanted barbeque, damn those Suna Nin."


	9. Chapter 9

Dare to be naïve or how I learned to be a silent killer. Part 4.

The trek back to the hotel was hard, He hurt everywhere. Now that he had gotten his first taste of real combat at close quarters where he didn't pick the field, He knew tomorrow, a lot of meditation and reflection was in order. Itachi at least had warned him about his first kill. The subconscious response to having body parts and blood on you cannot be ignored. First he had to get back to the hotel unseen. He didn't feel safe, the feeling of still being in the battlefield wouldn't die down. As he made a semi-circle through Suna to shake anyone tracking him, Eyes Squinted, Hand ready to pinch and bleed to draw fresh weapons from his arm seals, he saw 2 men standing down the road. Quickly, he ducked into an alleyway, Wall walked to the roof, hopped a couple buildings while drawing his chakra down. Creeping to the building edge, He added a tiny amount of chakra to once again extend his hearing.

"Zabuzza-sensei, I have a room reserved" Calmly stated figure 1. He was a younger male, Mist ANBU garb and weaponry, about Naruto's age he decided.

"Good, tomorrow, we visit the Kazekage, Tsunade's orders are to capture Namikaze, no excuses."

"Rules of engagement determined in our orders, Sensei?"

"Any means necessary", they continued down the road where Naruto had been.

"Fuck me, More trouble, Zabuzza fucking Momichi, Contract killer. I have to get out of here. One of the few people who can fight in the mist and he's fucking here. Damn me to fucking hell, Suna must have sold me out.'

Quickly he made his way to the hotel, showered changed, made 1 shadow clone, Pulled out a brush and paper, and made a decision. Writing furiously, he sealed it, sent the clone up to the roof and off to its delivery. Naruto himself, immediately henged into a civilian he saw clothes shopping, Walking out the front door, he turned to the business district.

'Teach these fuckers to mess with me.'

10 minutes later reaching the edge of the district, He summoned 20 clones. Each henged into Suna ANBU, and scattered. Their mission, plant explosive seals, their targets, the busiest shops he saw with Temari. Their objective, Damage business at the prime of the business day, Restaurants, take out their ability to cook, Food shops, detonate and splatter goods on the crowd, Weapons shops, destroy merchandise. The Timer seals set for the morning rush, Self destruct seals, Seal number 15 of the 20 mandatory Uzamaki seals, double added to ensure security.

At the Sabaku residence, Temari was in her room when a knock was heard on her window, Being up 3 floors, she cautiously grabbed a Kunai and opened the window, There hanging on the wall was a clone of Naruto's. He handed her the scroll and dispelled. She thought, 'WTF' , closed the window and sat down.

Opening the scroll,

_Mari,_

_I have to leave now, by the time you get this, I'll have left town. It's too dangerous for me to be here. I took a few minutes in the shower to process the kidnap, they had help, how or whom, I don't know. Yes. I know you guys came, Gaara's good, but moving sand is a dead giveaway. I don't have time to find out all the facts. Yet another team is in Suna, I spotted them on the way back to the Hotel, Contract killers, The Demon of the Mist and his apprentice. Wave backs them. 3 villages have made moves on me here. It's too much of a coincidence. I trust you and Gaara, no-one else in Suna. I'll write you when I can ensure no way to backtrack to me. I'll seal a Bunshin so at least we can talk and eventually when it dispels I'll get the information. Know I blame you for me liking you, Tell Gaara to eat and sleep better. Watch your back, since we're friends now, they'll be watching you. _

_Take Care till next time_

_Naruto_

_PS, the timer seal will self-destruct in 10 seconds. _

Temari smiled, frowned and thought, 'Be careful out there, I'll buy Dinner next time.' Turning to the lamp, she waited till the last of the scroll was but dust, turned off the lamp and laid down, Unaware of the escape cover Naruto had planned.

Early the next morning, He ate at the shack like restaurant by the Gate furthest away from his current home, and coincidently the clan residential district. Shift change was in 15 minutes, he wanted to be at the gate in exactly 14 minutes. Easiest time to get through manned gates was when tired Shinobi coming off a night shift wanted to go eat and go to bed. Smiling and waving as he went through the gate, mumbling about lousy buyers and having to go babysit negotiations for excess stock liquidations.

He walked for 2 hours, spread his senses out, detecting no one near him for a good distance, he henged into a wandering bum. It was a good hour to the First tree lines. 2 days tree running to the mist border bypassing Wave, and at least 5 days sail down the coast past Suna's Eastern coast to the Southern Provinces, where at least had a job, secure place to sleep and train, and a place he felt safe.

Back in Suna, the chaos broke at 10 AM, crowds splattered with chunks of fruit, Raw meat in coolers lost their power, clothing dripping with black dye, restaurant's stove's sputtering with Gas lines being bent and pinched off. Weapons were falling off walls, dulling edges. Crowds ran in a panic, Suna ANBU covered on the scene, The explosions, sequential, led the ANBU to 2 clones henged into Zabuzza and The Unknown Mist nin holding a banner. The banner said."Never mess with the Maelstrom, Else the Maelstrom will mess with you." then the clones dispelled.

2 Hours later, the Kazekage sat in his office, pondering who was working against him for recruiting the boy. The damage was minor, but the message was received. Clearly the hottest prospect of his generation distrusted Suna, The Clones a clear message he knew Suna ha contacted Wave. He had thought the boy would be friendly to Wave, evidence though to the contrary. He knew a headache was coming. The council would be in an uproar, acquiring the services of the Namikaze heir was critical for future power, the war had left a gap in the ranks, 2 generations of the shinobi forces were gone, he needed to replenish strength. The only option left was to bluff through this generation and raise the next and supplement it.

Calling his secretary, He asked for the Clan head of the Sabaku clan, Kankarou. 15 minutes later, Kankarou entered his office, bowed and waited.

"Sit Kankarou, as the only clan left with fighting forces available, the future is in your hands. Your clan is ordered to the Wind colonies to supplement the colonial commander's forces. While there, Gaara and you are ordered to participate in Operation Suna Propagation. Temari when of age will participate as well when a Bloodline user of sufficient worth is determined. Failure to participate will be considered treason, this operation is critical to ensure the strength and expansion of future Suna forces to hold the colonies. "

He handed the orders scrolls to Kankarou, and watched perverse grin come onto Kankarou's Face. "Kazakage-sama, The Sabaku clan thanks you for the opportunity to serve Suna and ensure Suna's Future. We will do everything we can to make this operation a success."

Standing and Bowing, Kankarou left the office. The Kazekage sat there back turned to his desk, looking out over the now cleaned up Suna. Thinking to himself, "The next move is made, Surely Naruto will respond when the time is right to this. All we have to do is wait. Temari should thank me for making her the damsel in distress. I should send Kankarou my Icha-Icha subscription bill for getting him laid" Quietly chuckling at the thought of Kankarou and Gaara with former fire country residents about to be used to for the next generation, sandy vagina's indeed"

Location: Ame

Time: 2 weeks after Naruto's exit from Suna

Itachi had just finished his 2nd review of the films Zetsu and Sasori had gathered. He headed to a small meeting room where Madara and Pain were waiting for him.

Knocking in the door, He waited until invited.

"Madara-sensei, Leader-sama" bowing to the pair.

"Itachi, after your review what do you glean from the films?" asked Pain.

"Naruto was sloppy, expected without having a partner to press him, make him improvise quicker on the fly. He made all the right calls, but he should have been quicker, he had a tremendous skill and power advantage and didn't know it based on what I saw.

He has no sword; He must not have received Red Death's. Kushina-sensei must have left it with someone. Weapons were adequate, a sword of any type would have been better in the Mist. He has completely mastered the Rasengan, Lethal at close range. Kage Bunshin and possibly other clone jutsu's as well. Elemental control was excellent. Taijutsu looked far better than it did the last time I trained with him. Of course I could make it better. Not skilled at Genjutsu, he missed the cameras completely. Overall, without a single shinobi to train with, easily lower Jounin, with the potential to exceed anyone's most excessive expectations if his training stayed the same as when I had him.

Sasori sent a addendum to his report, the day after the house test, Several distractions were made in town to apparently cover his escape from Suna, This shows Excellent evasion and planning, whether or not he was in Suna when the incidents occurred is undetermined."

Pondering the critique, Madara spoke first, "No exposure of Kyuubi's presence or examination of the seal?"

"No, Madara-sensei"

Madara turned back to Pain, "Have you considered my new plan for Naruto?"

"Yes, it makes sense, based on the reports, Iwa is definitely out for Him, Konoha's part of Suna, He doesn't trust Suna based on his distractions to escape. Neither does he trust the paper tiger called Wave. This leaves Cloud and Mist. Cloud might be a potential spot for him to visit in the future, But I think the Mist is probably the best bet. Wave made a mistake, Sending Momichi, They should have sent a Sannin. I think the plan should proceed in Mist."

Madara nodded. Turning to Itachi, "Take Kisame to the mist, And the Whirlpool remnants, Find Red Death's sword. Once found, Wait for Naruto to appear, negotiate a viewing of the seal for training and the sword. I have a feeling Cloud will not welcome him either. Mist is still in a civil war and doesn't have the power to prevent the others from grabbing him there. Identify all forces in the Mist looking for Naruto. Use the ring to call and summon me. If the seal still exhibits the same markings, the deal is done, Kyuubi is gone for us. We may need to offer him a spot in Akatsuki."

Nodding at his orders, Itachi got up to leave, Madara called him back, "Itachi, train him well, since the weapon is useless now without the Kyuubi, we need the Hosts on our side."

"Yes, Madara-Sensei"

Scene: Konoha

Time: Naruto's meeting with the Kyuubi

Location: In the former tunnels of Root, Colonial Commander's office. The tunnels are now occupied with cells, medical facilities, and special chambers for _Private_ training of captured Konoha women and girls of age.

The Commander was at his desk reading the weekly dispatch. Important messages to the colony were included in menial messages to hide them. Single messengers had been captured several times recently. One message raised an Eyebrow:

From the desk of the Kazekage:

Colonial Commander, you are ordered to begin the extermination of the last Hyuuga. Capture the unsealed main house females, Kill the rest. If possible, retrieve caged bird seal scrolls. If possible, keep 1 male alive for farming of samples. Remove caged bird seal from captured donor. Place main house females into rotation as soon as possible for immediate service to Suna, Utilize Clan Sabaku to expedite mission success.

Secondary Operation: Float Fake orders for Captured donor's first recipient to be Sabaku Temari. Make announcement after capture of Donor.

Tertiary Operation: Remove Eye of survivors for transplant to Suna Forces, Choose appropriate Jounin and transplant to them. (Must have Hyuuga scrolls to complete)

* * *

Location: Small Town approximately 2 days Ninja travel from the Orchards

Naruto Strolled into town lazily, covering 2 days travel in one day to be far away from that Kyuubi chakra burst, all he wanted to do is sleep. Checking into the local inn, he went to his room, showered, dressed in loose fitting pants, unsealed some fruit from the Orchards, and ate quietly, somewhat still wired from being overtired, He pulled out from the seals a brush, ink and paper. Jotting his weekly letter to Temari, He also made 2 bunshin, quickly sealed one in the message, and sent the other to find a civilian Post Building. Firing up a privacy and security seal, he quickly crashed. He had work to do seal wise tomorrow. The first of the modified barrier seals Kyuubi co-created with him would be applied tomorrow.

_Authors Note:_

_AND Away we go: the stage is now set. No more skips, No more Filler to set the story line. _


	10. Chapter 10

Red Dawning of the New World.

Location: 1 hours travel time to Kirkagakure Proper.

Date: 3 Months since leaving the Southern Provinces.

Naruto moved along the main civilian paths in the tree lines. It made travel easier from the throngs of civilians racing away from the Mist capitol. After leaving the Southern Provinces, he had made his way along the coasts of the continent, each time he stopped; he had ended up in a strange situation. Once he played bodyguard to the now Princess of Spring, Snow Ninja had hunted her down in the Sea Country just beyond Konoha. She was a drunkard, and was barely saved in time to get her movie done. Problem was they had pissed in the maelstrom so to speak. Giving her a piece of mind and setting her straight afterwards. He hopped a charter boat to Snow, and assassinated Dotou, The leader of Snow at the time. Shortly thereafter the Last Princess Gale movie came out, unfortunately, he was in it during the fight scenes.

Returning to the Mainland, he disappeared in the Island chains. Naruto furiously worked to finish the conversion seals. He had made several discoveries in his Hiraishin studies and some of the pieces fell immediately into place, some required the design and testing of new conversion seals. The Hiraishin funneled chakra into a matter conversion seal. This converted matter to energy and transmitted it to a beacon point and reconverted it to matter. It was Basic Energy conversion. The process was taking chakra to convert the energy binding matter to an atomic form transmitting to a receptor and reconverting the energy to bind the matter. The key was the guides the converter's used. Because the seals had to be user specific, it was no wonder he couldn't get it to work before. He guessed his father wanted him to figure out those pertinent facts on his own.

From what he knew, chakra could be converted to medicinal chakra, so why couldn't it be configured to any form of energy he wanted, With that thought, he dove into the last of the seals and spotted the unique Kanji for electricity. So, he went to work on a lightening converter, seal drawn, placed it on the palm of his right hand, pushed chakra to that point and into the seal, the seal was drawn to expel the energy. The next thing he knew a bolt flew from his hand and blew big chunk of the cave he was in to bits. Then he picked up a kunai he had made in a small town earlier that day. He Placed a seal drawn exactly as he had read on it, Forced the same amount of chakra into it and it glowed, throwing it as hard as he could, he could sense the charged kunai, he did the described hand seal set, and next thing he knew he was standing next to the kunai.

That being done, the last of his goals was nearing conclusion. Taking the Suna Demonic barrier seals, he changed them to a funnel structure, With each one mounted, the linked a chakra conversion seal from the original matrix, then linked the output to a Storage seal that had a petcock function to it, He could at will apply blood to the seal to open or close the seal flow, if closed it went into storage. If open, his coils received a boost of chakra at a continuous flow. Naruto, determining that if he closed off all chakra from the fox to his system, he was screwed if he got seriously injured. With that in mind, he took the Uzamaki Chakra seals and linked them to 2 of the 5 matrix adjustments. He then linked storage seals to the Healing chakra conversion seals. This gave him an instant healing assembly that rivaled the effects of Kyuubi chakra.

The end effect was no more Kyuubi chakra in his system or available to him. He needed a failsafe, this was where he made a small deal with the Kyuubi, if unable to consciously release the seals, and a failsafe seal was in place. The fox could push chakra to in bypassing the storage assembly, and going straight into a combination Demonic to healing chakra seal. After all, if Naruto died, he died, and all it cost Naruto was letting the fox see, smell and hear combat. Naruto kept most of the Seals open to flow to his coils, Leaving 1 each normal and healing to storage.

Now after the 6 weeks it took to do the matrix changes, he was nearing the mist capitol. His intent was to peruse the records halls of the Ndiame and Sandaime Mizukage for references to His Mom's clan. He really hoped that Mist and his clan had been in good terms. The Yondaime Mizukage was a host; he also started this civil war. Based on his experience with the Konoha clans, he could sympathize with trying to keep their overblown self worth in check. The only bloodline user he had ever met that he respected was Itachi.

He entered the capitol and promptly went to the hall of records. 3 frustrating hours later, not a clue was found. It was late afternoon at this point, too late to get and audience, but early enough to get an appointment made to see the Mizukage tomorrow. He made his appointment and went off to find a hotel. He noticed he was followed, and kept calmly aware of the numbers and positions of his followers.

The next morning, a messenger knocked on his door from the Mizukage. Apparently his tail reported where he was staying. Taking the message, he noted he had time to clean up, place all his weapons in his seals ready for immediate usage, including the dozen Hiraishin Kunai he had made, each seal in quick reach of his wrists and forearms.

Escorted to the tower, he was escorted around the line of people waiting to see the Kage. Upon entering, a tall man Blondish, brown hair, fair skin features common in Mist on his face.

"Mizukage-sama, thank you for seeing me."

"What brings the only civilian of interest in the Bingo book to Mist? I hope not to help my enemies in the war are you?"

"Oh no, not even interested in the war, But I do sympathize with your plight. I've had experience with bloodline clans, few if any are worth their grief."

"Now that's interesting, you're not offended at the thought of wiping out your enemies?"

"No, my mother taught me to kill all who were in my way. Now while I refrain from excessive violence, I can see from my childhood experience that most definitely bloodline clans tend or over value their self-worth. I would fight and kill to protect those I care for. To me that's morally supportable. What others feel as morally supportable is none of my business as long as it doesn't interfere with my interests. "

"Excellent, how can I assist you with your goals?

"If you could Mizukage-same, Point me to where I could find some reference materials relating to my mother's family? "

"I can do that and more, Your Bingo book entry lists you as a civilian, would you be interested in a position in Mist?"

"Not Today Mizukage-sama, Mom wanted me to find something, so I'm looking around for now. I promise to not get involved in your business during my stay. "

With that, Naruto was escorted out the door, and over to the next building where Mist kept restricted access documents. On the walk over, he saw 2 men seated in a stand, wearing Black Cloaks with red clouds shouting greetings to a Tall man and short man dressed identically entering the stand. The huge rice hats blocking observation of their features.

"What the fuck are you guys doing here?

"Now, now, no public disturbances Hidan, You know Leader-sama has us posted in Mist on our own mission. Your sacrifices are safe from us, as is Kakuza's bounties."

"I saw your bounty enter the Kage tower Itachi, Your business not ours."

"Don't Mind Itachi, he's just nervous getting to see his old friend again" laughed the tall one.

"Making a move on your bounty soon Kakuza?" asked Itachi.

"Soon,"

"Fine, Naruto could use a good fight. No killing or permanent wounds, Leader-sama would be most angry."

Later that afternoon, back at the hotel, Naruto had just finished putting away the materials he had copied about his clan history. Sensing 2 other chakra signatures joining the two already in the hallway at each end, a knock came at the door. Sensing one that was unforgettable, and one he didn't know. He made 2 clones, positioning them for a quick switch or a wall break.

Answering the door, he looked at 2 men with large rice hats, cloaks black with Red Clouds.

"Naruto, come with us please." Lifting his rice hat to reveal Itachi, the dead emotion look he used when he was about to get in a fight.

"Itachi Uchiha, long time no see. You must be Kisame. I've learned so much about you recently."

"Naruto, please come with us. " Once again Itachi asked. This time Itachi winked.

'Did he just wink at me? What the fuck? Oh shit, he wants a test. Well, this is going to hurt. Wonder what his game is?'

"I'm sorry Itachi, I'm too tired to go out tonight and reminisce about old times. Tomorrow Perhaps?"

"Can I just cut his legs off? It would be easier."

The two at each end of the hallway had ran off scared shitless of the 3 men calmly discussing 1 going quietly to his death. They would go to the Mist Military headquarters and report 2 missing Nin in town and attempting a kidnapping of a verified civilian.

"Be quiet, Kisame, You cannot cut off his legs. Naruto Leader-sama wishes to see you."

"Sorry Itachi, but you know what Mom always said" Gave Itachi a wink, Switched with a clone instantly and ducked, Both clones immediately waved and went whispered, "Boom"

The resulting explosion blew them through the wall behind them and they landed on the occupied bed in the next room. They looked up, Stood up, dusted themselves off, Turned to the shocked couple and said, "We're sorry to interrupt your regularly scheduled sex. " and calmly walked out back to Naruto's room and peered outside the building where down the street Naruto was beating on Hidan who missed him unintentionally with his scythe.

They leapt down to the street, walking at a steady pace as Mist ANBU were circling, getting ready to Join the fray from above. Hidan was cursing Naruto, Naruto was beating on Hidan, Finally retrieving his scythe, Hidan made series of strikes and was driving Naruto backwards.

"Fuck me, what the hell is going on here? This stupid bastard is trying to kill me. Well fuck him." He thought as he was in the midst of several leaps and back flips to avoid the seriously painful looking weapon. 'Bastard must like blades, let's see if he likes mine.' And without a hand seal or vocalization the street was filled from building wall to building wall with Wind Blades bearing down on the Akatsuki member.

"Think Hidan can get up from that?" laughed Kisame as the pair was just in range to see the forming blades.

"It will certainly be a test of Hidan's faith won't it?"

The last words Hidan uttered were, "Well damn, this is going to hurt"

As the little bloody chunks of Hidan Exploded all over the street, Naruto turned to the pair arriving. Pulling sewer water up, he quickly formed the seals for several water dragons. The dragons were met 1 for 1, the splashes soaking both Naruto and the pair.

Kisame leapt forward, brandishing a downward stroke at Naruto which was blocked with a tri-prong Kunai. Rotating the weapons to dislodge from each other, a series of strikes were sent and parried by each man. As soon as a gap was about to appear, Itachi fired a fireball the almost got Kisame passing by. The water in the street was evaporating. Naruto dived to the side, noticing the now evaporating water and summoned the hidden mist jutsu.

'Now the odds are better' Thought Naruto. He summoned a dozen clones, intent on herding Kisame away from Itachi.

Closing the distance, he rushed to Itachi, challenging him hand to hand, each could track the other without vision, but the Mist ANBU could not see what was going on. Fists and kicks flying and tremendous speeds. Impacts on building walls rattling dishes inside. Naruto and Itachi now drew Kunai; However, Having done this against each other quite a few times, he maneuvered Naruto to a position where Naruto was in the aggressor position, Kunai at Itachi's throat. Smoothly he reached and inserted a note in Naruto's hand that was at his throat, Back-Flipping Naruto over him. Naruto landed hard intentionally. Sliding the note in his pocket as he was getting up, He yelled at the Mist ANBU, "Are you guys lazy or what? He watched as Itachi had leapt over him, and gathered Kisame to escape, lest the ANBU begin to wear them down. His task done, His face, covered with an evil sneer and he turned and left with Kisame.

With the Best of the Mist responding to 3 Akatsuki openly fighting near the tower, the Mizukage never saw what hit him, when a barrage of lightening Jutsu incapacitated him on the roof of the Tower where he was watching the 3 Akatsuki. Shunshining off. Kakuza was mentally counting the bounty that the warmongering Mizukage would draw from Cloud. Cloud's supply lines severely hampered as they were from the inability to ship and receive goods through the Mist's ports. They would pay most handsomely.


	11. Chapter 11

When it's time has come, the prey goes to the hunter.

Location: Just outside the Mist capital.

Time: 3 Days after the Mizukage was taken by the Akatsuki

Naruto was walking gingerly out of Mist. The security forces had _interviewed_ him for 2 days after the battle. Once the reports of other Jinchurikii being taken at the same time came, they cut him loose not very gently. After that he got jumped by a group of sycophants of the Mizukage. Thankfully, that to was in broad daylight after a long and heavy rain. They made the mistake of thinking they had the advantage in the wet, damp air, puddles still on the streets. After a Tsunami jutsu washed them and an apartment building away, The Senior Jounin of the group tried to kill him with several rounds of Water Dragon Jutsu. Summoning the Hidden Mist Jutsu, and deciding the only time that he's ever come back to the Mist was if the Mizukage kissing his ass and blowing him, He went into Silent Killer mode, Extracting from his seals, his elongated Switchblades. Moving effortlessly using the sand walking technique he had learned, 4 Jounin lay bleeding out in the street. Channeling a burst of chakra into the Jutsu to cover his exit, Naruto made the technique stretch blocks, Switching into a henge and heading immediately to the city's walls. Once outside, he strolled as his favorite singing drunk merchant and went 10 miles before he dropped the act, headed to the tree lines and made top speed for the rest of the night until he felt a familiar chakra in the distance, matching course and speed.

Slowing to find a secure campsite, he found small clearing near a Waterfall; he dropped casually from the tree, set a few traps in the trees. He knew Itachi and whomever he had with him should be good enough to miss them, but anyone under ANBU captain was dead. He sent some clones off to find enough firewood to last the night. Got undressed and leapt in the water, He cleaned up swapped clothes from his wardrobe scroll, and sat down, calmly opening his food supplies as Itachi and Kisame entered the campsite.

"It's good to see you again, Itachi."

"It's good to see my student again as well"

"Something to eat? I have dango and pocky stored for you. I never knew when I'd run into you again, but I had some orders saved from the day of chaos in Konoha."

"You always did know how to butter me up, so what brings you to the mist?"

"As I'm sure you know, I was looking for clues to mom's clan. Her journals were vague on one subject only, the clans travel and location of their historical home.'

"Kushina-sensei always skipped that subject with me'

"Wait, are you saying Red Death was his mother and your sensei?"

"Of course, why would Naruto and I deceive each other on such a subject of deep personal importance?"

"Well damn, remind me to not piss you guys off if you fight like her."

"So, Itachi, what work fills your days now?"

"I, along with Kisame am part of the Akatsuki. Madara-sensei called off all hostile actions against you pending our reunion. As you are aware of, we retrieved the 3 tails from Mist and the 4 and 5 tails from Iwa. This gives Leader-sama the 3 through 7 tails in his possession. As you are also aware, the 9 tails appears to be property of the Shinigami, Our task here is ask if you would allow an audience with Madara-Sensei to examine the seal. In exchange, Kisame and I would travel with you. We would be training and evaluating your skill levels and would be expanding your skills as much as possible."

"You've shown him the copies of our little heist?"

"Yes, Konoha never realized that we took the clearest photos with us."

"I've been studying the seal along with the fox. If it were anyone other than you two Itachi, You know I would have killed them. That being said, Arrange the meeting, you and I will reminisce afterwards."

"Kisame, You know what to do." Kisame got up, leaving Sameheda leaning against a tree. He gathered chakra and appeared to be in a trance. A few moments later, Uchiha Madara flashed in.

"Hiraishin?"

"No young Senju, A space/time jutsu due to my evolved bloodline. It's been a long time since I've seen a young Senju."

"Senju, My father was related?"

"Yes, directly to the Shodaime's Father."

"Itachi tells me you know the Kyuubi is irretrievable. You do know this?"

"Unfortunately, Yes. That fact has destroyed all my plans, the fact the photos of your seals prior to the actual event clearly show the Shodaime's Shinigami summoning seal as part of the architecture. The runes after the sealing clearly warning anyone interested that the fox was now his, and no one survives long stealing from the Gods."

"It gets better Madara, when I first met the fox; there was a statement of fact to that, along with a _suggestion _that the power of the fox was mine to command. I didn't like that idea, neither did the fox. Accidently, I had already studied some of the seal matrix. We spent a lot of time studying the rest. What we mutually agreed to is _transference_ of power. I hated my father for a long time for sealing me like this; I was seen as the fox, not its jail. That did not sit well with either the fox or I. Since I apparently have no choice about the fact its chakra capacity and volume were going to become mine whether I wanted it or not. We managed to come up with an effective way of changing its nature. As we were studying the matrix of the original seal, we notice blank spots, intentionally left. We then examined the layers in the seal in my mindscape. There were pre-planned conversion seal mounting points along with several statements by an elder being. We've utilized the conversion mounts, I will never exhibit Kyuubi's chakra, or physical traits of the fox ever again. You'll observe, the whiskers are gone. You may examine the seal; you may not channel chakra or change the seal in any way. If you try to genjutsu me, I'll know it."

Madara stood up, waved Kisame and Itachi out of the clearing. "Please sit and start to meditate, I must use the sharingan to enter your mindscape. Do you agree to that?

"As long as you tread carefully."

Naruto was quickly in his mindscape.

"Jailer" acknowledged the fox. "You bring a visitor, such foul and evil chakra to him. It has been a long time Uchiha Madara."

"Silence Beast, You failed. This child was not to be your jail"

A deep growl came from the fox. "No you listen, _Ninja Dog_, You're desires of revenge and your acts of betrayal against me, your benefactor caused this. Now tell me why you're here or I will eat you."

Sighing heard from Madara,"Your capture ruined my plans short term, The Gods being involved may have doomed them permanently. With your jailer's permission, I may examine the seal. No more no less."

"Be quick about it, your presence disturbs me"

Madara's sharingan spun furiously, going over every line in the huge matrix. "I shall take my leave now Fox, it appears we will never meet again", and with that disappeared from Naruto's mindscape.

Outside, Madara sat on a branch above Naruto, legs crossed, looking off in the distance. Naruto promptly came out of his meditation. He looked around then up.

"Satisfied?"

"No, but I can confirm now the _Gods_, not just the Shinigami were involved, the healing matrices you placed are generating far more power than the design says it should. I know those seals, Whirlpool was well known for huge chakra supplied Ninja's with poor control. Healing is a sign of benevolence, your design should equal a Jounin med-nin; its output is 3 times that per seal with no reasonable explanation other that the Shinigami seal in the center is controlling it. The chakra conversion design of the original seal should have taken till you were quite old to drain the fox. I'd give it six months till the fox was gone."

"Wow, didn't know that."

Madara sat silent a moment, Looking as if he was looking at an early star in the sky.

"In the days of the Six Paths sage, he had two children. One would become the future Uchiha founder, the other the Senju. It was foretold that the last of each, would fight each other for the right to survive and rule. It was foretold, that they would be 'Of one, but separate' With the only Uchiha your age dead due to my actions, it appears the gods felt my interference in sending the Kyuubi to Konoha forfeited the Uchiha's position in that prophecy. Goodbye for Now, Young Senju."

With that, Madara disappeared. Itachi came back to the clearing.

"Madara-sensei seemed disturbed."

"Too bad for him. Good News for me."

"I listened; it seems my Sensei's son shall surpass us all. Kisame has gone to find rooms for the night. My orders were to train you as hard as I can. I presume Madara-Sensei knew what he was going to find. It will be interesting to gauge myself against you Naruto."

"Excellent, it'll be like old times. I haven't pranked anyone since Suna, Wanna go find a hidden village to terrorize for stealth training?"

Smiling for the first time in a long time, "Of course, what is travel with an Uzamaki without Chaos and Mindless Mayhem. "


	12. Chapter 12

God whispers in our pleasures, but shouts in our **Pein**.

Location: Kumogakure Main Province, the Woods outside the Capitol City

Time 4 Months after the Meeting with Madara to examine the seal.

Naruto Dived to his left to dodge a Huge Fireball from Itachi. Itachi had been forced to go all out and had two Kage bunshins firing Sequential Smaller fireballs in a Minefield pattern trying to catch Naruto and slow him down. Naruto appeared twenty feet to his left, pushed up and leapt and at the maximum height of his leap fired off three kunai, Blazing one handed seals, at a rate of twenty five a second. A pulse of chakra turned the three to thirty, promptly earning a colorful metaphor from Itachi. Kisame brought up a water wall to shield him. But the wall was immediately destroyed by a wind wall of blades, Both Kisame and Itachi had barely dodged the wind blades and as they rolled to their knees and looked up, One shadow clone each was diving on them Rasengan blaring violently. Once more they were forced to dive. As Kisame was diving he swung Sameheda in circular swath to destroy his clone which immediately exploded his Rasengan, blowing Kisame spinning into a tree. With a sickening crunch, he hit, slowly sitting up holding his right shoulder. Itachi had dived, into a handspring upwards; chakra leapt off a tree trunk and fired off another set of fireballs, too bad for him Naruto had already disappeared yet again. In Mid leap, after releasing the fireballs blindly, He landed, right hand on the ground, right knee next to it, breathing heavily. In a tree 30 meters to Itachi's left, an alarm clock went off. The signal that today's training session was over.

Naruto burst out of the ground, a slim smile of confidence on his face. As he looked around, he saw Kisame, walked over and a bright burst of healing chakra exploded around Kisame.

"Damn kid that really hurt.'

"Very Well Done Naruto, You have exceeded my Sensei's skills. I can't say how impressed I am. Four hours of non-stop up close combat two on one and you still aren't winded. You have learned all there is left both Kisame and I have to teach, "

"Handicapped as I was, I thought I was going to lose. No Lightening, no Hidden Mist, No Seal traps, those were some heavy restrictions. "

"Be that as it may, the restrictions were to limit you to Sensei's level; you are truly a mix of both your parents' abilities. If Konoha hadn't been so stupid, you would be ANBU captain by now."

"You don't know how much that means to me. Thank You, Itachi-Sensei,"

"Well Kid, It's time Itachi and I got back to our job, Good Luck to you."

"Thanks Kisame, I won't forget the lessons of the blade either,

"Naruto, it is time we left, but May I have a moment alone with you."

Walking away from Kisame, Itachi started speaking softly, "From this point forward, if you come face to face with Kisame and me, you must fight to kill. Madara and Pein won't stop gathering the remained beasts. He wanted you trained to offer you a place with us. I know you can't turn your back on Yugito or Temari's brother. So as the only person I respect, if you have a chance in the future, you mustn't hesitate. "

"I understand, for the sake of your quest to kill Madara, I will protect them as well as I can. The longer it takes to get them, the better your odds of finding a way to kill him. It will sadden me to kill you Itachi to maintain your façade. Don't get in my way."

"One last thing Naruto, I have one last request, Visit Wave once, the only place your mother's blade can now be is with the Sannin."

"No promises there, Itachi. I'd as soon kill them as talk to them, Their Abandoning me as a child, Sending Zabuzza to Suna, The assorted Hunter-nin, no; I think they made their bed. "

"As you wish, goodbye ….Brother"

With that, the Men separated, Naruto to reenter the capitol to clean up and spend the rest of his time in cloud waiting for Yugito to get her Service release. Itachi and Kisame to rendezvous with Kakuza and Konan, Sasori and Deidera were en route to the Suna colony of Konoha to capture Gaara. Naruto arrived at Yugito's apartment, showered and headed to the tower to meet the Raikage, Yugito and Bee. Yugito would be signing her papers today. In two weeks, after her debrief and release interviews, the pair would head to the Suna colonies. An introduction was needed, letters and pictures were ok, but Naruto knew the girls would need to talk, both dating the same man took a bond between the two of them as well that had not be created yet,

Konan and Kakuza watched as Naruto entered the village, turning to look for Kisame and Itachi, they saw them coming through a newly created hole in the barrier wall of the capitol. As the pairs met up, a quick nod and the pairs took off to their preplanned positions. Itachi and Kisame would be the cleanup and take the Eight Tailed container. Zetsu would be the bait, appearing in the Raikage's office as they gathered. Konan and Kakuza would engage in hit and run tactics to separate the group. Pein's Deva Path would be arriving momentarily to assist in the separation.

As the group sat waiting for the Raikage to enter the office, Yugito was twirling her hair nervously, Being three years older than Naruto, She had faced the wrath of the ignorant in the other smaller villages of her country, only in the capitol was she safe. When she met Naruto, she was stuck in a mess of shinobi stationed in a small village near the border, there, she wasn't a Shinobi, and she was the Demon, a whore, a set of holes to be used, abused and killed. It had taken Naruto a full healing chakra storage seal to put her back together. While the twenty clones he summoned killed every shinobi in the village. The Raikage wanted him dead for killing fifty of his shinobi, that is until Yugito came behind Naruto, put her arms around him and thanked him for saving her life. After that, a heated, albeit safer conversation took place, the Raikage accepting Naruto's explanation. Yugito had found someone strong who liked her for her, whom understood her life, and didn't give a shit about shinobi. It took a week of begging after three months of dating for the Raikage to agree to move her to the reserves.

Location: The Former Konoha, Now Suna's Colony

The raid on the Last of the Hyuuga was very costly, although the clan had sworn loyalty to Suna after the war. They had also been skimming profits off the colony; this was the excuse the colonial commander had used to justify the all out assault against the compound. Of the thirty Hyuuga left after the war, 2 were left in his possession, Some had died in battle, several committed suicide rather than be placed in the breeding program that no one acknowledged, but the Hyuuga had helped stock and co-ordinate. One young girl had disappeared, the only trace of what had happened was a dead Oto Nin in her bedroom, her sheets bloody and damaged. The two left, were the heads of the main and branch families. Hinata and Neji, Now blinded, eyes removed and sold by the commander to Orochimaru for a bundle of ryuu and a former shinobi of Oto's now crippled and only useful as a bed warmer.

Kankarou loved his weekly visits to the "playground". He had routinely trained several of the prisoners to be test subjects for his restraining poisons, and once disabled, but fully alert, had his way with them. Disobedience was not an option, getting gang raped by half the garrison was a very unpleasant experience, several had died, some stared blankly never moving, allowing the prison staff to place them in any position they wanted. Two were brutally maimed and disfigured. Kankarou was a leader of the group doing the disfiguring, after all looks didn't prevent pregnancy.

Temari, knew what her brother was doing, she had grown to despise Suna, If but by the grace of Kami, that could have been her down there, But Gaara had crushed the shinobi who brought the orders, and went on a rampage killing all in his path until the commander rescinded the order and had them come to his office to show them the orders of the Kazekage. He explained the intention to have Naruto come rescue her, capture the man, and force him to join their forces to insure her welfare. The weekly letters containing Naruto's clones were the worst kept secret of Suna and the commander followed his orders based on the rumors of the clones constantly appearing in their home, the now captured Senju compound.

Gaara had mellowed considerably over the time since his seal adjustment. He had been seeing the Hyuuga clan head, she had shown him kindness and compassion for his burden, she remembered the little blond haired boy of her childhood, and the cruelty shown him for his burden. She had sworn to show Gaara a better side of life. Now lying in the prison, blind, in considerable pain and bare able to cover herself, she would have cried if she could. Gaara had just returned from his patrol with the ANBU of the colony, he was headed over to the Hyuuga compound for dinner; he stopped at the front saw the remains of the burnt and destroyed buildings and saw red. Sand swirling violently from his back, he slowly went to find his sister.

Location; Raikage's Office

Yugito had just gotten her signed papers and was hugging first Bee then the Raikage as Zetsu burst through the floor.

"Ah, 3 Demons sitting in a room, we shall have a great time today, as Bee flung out two swords and struck at Zetsu, missing as he fell back through the floor. Explosions raged across the city.

Bee recovered, looked at his brother questioningly, "What's their deal, Are they for real; I'll have to give eight-O an Akatsuki meal."

The Raikage however, raged, "ANBU, find and kill these bastards."

The Anbu hidden under genjutsu in the office raced to alert and organize strike groups, unaware that a superior Akatsuki force was waiting.

"Yugito, you stay with Naruto, He's killed Akatsuki before. I would prefer if both of you laid low and struck from the shadows, let Bee and I deal with them, The ANBU should be able to at least find them and guide us there. If it gets too hot, we can't afford to let you get captured. You are ordered to escape with Naruto.

A silent tear fell from her eye as she nodded and watched the Raikage and Bee leap from the Window. She wanted to get out there and fight, but for Akatsuki to openly attack like this was a bad sign.

Naruto was shocked as they were, but he knew if the chips were down, he could take two Akatsuki, he just prayed Itachi had enough sense to not get himself killed so quickly. Grabbing Yugito's hand he pulled her out of the office, blasting a hole in the ceiling and made his way to the roof. He needed to know who was attacking, where they were and the terrain of the fights before he and Yugito moved out, Yugito stood next to him as he unsealed his travel scroll, changed clothing for combat, and armed himself and Yugito.

Sensing a presence coming from behind them, he started to turn and attack when he head "Shinra Tensei" and he felt himself and Yugito flying off the roof, He grabbed Yugito and fired a 3-prong kunai at the roof of a building several buildings over. Appearing in a flash with Yugito landing in him, He eased her up, turned to see who it was, and cursed.

_Author's Note: Next Chapter. The fighting gets intense. Akatsuki once again attacks a city where Naruto is. The fact that every village Naruto goes to has issues does not escape the eyes of the Five Kage of the elemental countries _


	13. Chapter 13

God whispers in our pleasures, but shouts in our **pain**. Part 2

"Fuck" muttered Naruto. He took a quick glance to see what he was up against. 'Damn you, Itachi, couldn't have you at least warned me you planned to thin the herd? Bee and his brother against Itachi and Kisame, Good bye Kisame, but fuck to leave me and Yugito against the Puppet boy, Toilet Paper Girl and the human surgical stitch?. His ass is ground fucking meat afterwards. '

"Yugi, I need a minute, Can you keep them at a distance?"

Yugito nodded, brushing the dirt from the roof off threw her hair back over the shoulder, gave him quick peck on the cheek, and leapt off the roof, Summoning kunai after kunai from the arsenal scroll in Naruto's Main travel scroll.

Meanwhile, Naruto quickly pushed himself into his mindscape.

"Jailer, what excitement do we have today?"

"As per our negotiations, I am entering combat; you have access to all my senses. The Akatsuki superior puppet boy is here, along with his frigid, papergirl, and the walking surgical stitch."

"We have a moment jailer to discuss strategy, Have you Ideas?"

"Papergirl is a walking kindling pile, a futon/Katon combo, she's dead. The walking stitch, I can't trade long-range Ninjutsu with, I was assuming I would get up-close and personal and take his head. The puppeteer, I will have to come up with something."

"Jailer, focus your chakra, do you feel it?"

"Damn, I missed those, massive chakra strings."

"Cut the strings, destroy the puppets, draw the puppeteer Jailer, and Make it quick, Yugito is no match for them all."

Another gravity attack blew Yugito back, Naruto had to leap off the roof he was on to catch her. Cradling her in his arms, he flashed back to the roof.

"I need you to just keep the puppet occupied; I'm taking the lackeys out quickly whispered Naruto in her ear. The hot breath sending shivers down her spine as her battle drawn emotions made her hot.

As Yugito jumped down the stairway of the fire escape on the opposite side of the roof, she was going flank and pressure the human puppet, Naruto summoned 3 clones, all 4 fired the great fireball jutsu and then fired the great wind wall of blades. The resulting Fireball incinerated everything in its path moving at a vastly accelerated speed and temperature. In a blink of an eye Konan's body vaporized, the blood curdling scream distracting the Pein from Yugito's flanking strikes. Kakuza raced through hand signs with his strongest Suiton Jutsu. Nearly drowning himself as the water was blown back at him superheated.

Smiling internally, Naruto heard the scream of rage from the puppet as a large area gravity attack struck everything in front of the agonized Pein. The attack buried a burned and hurt Kakuza under a pile of building wreckage, his 2nd and third degree scalded skin screaming at him. Tendrils emerged from him smashing the debris. Steel rods from the building walls piercing 2 of his 5 hearts, he cursed Pein and Threatened him with taking his heart for the inconvenience. Naruto repeated his attack sequence again at the foxes prompting; the resulting boiling water from Kakuza's defense causing agonizing fits of pain. Dodging the interspersed gravity attacks, thanks to Yugito's distraction work, Naruto once again went back to his mist jutsu, but this time a literal wall of Hiraishin kunai immediately followed. Kakuza couldn't stay silent and motionless in his current condition. He could sense Naruto's chakra, but he had no defense against a blade that attacked from all angles. Moments later a combination of a futon jutsu from Naruto and the puppets gravity attack revealed a dissected pile of human remains, each of Kakuza 5 hearts destroyed.

Back in Rain, The other paths were racing around looking for Madara, finding him staring in the direction of cloud from the balcony of his office, Pein demanded he take all the path's and himself to Cloud.

"Why?" inquired Madara.

"The jailer of the nine-tails must die, NOW." growled the Path closest to Madara.

Looking at Pein, Madara knew Pein was going to die at the hands of Naruto. How and when was immaterial now. The Plan of old gone, Pein in a rage, he would abandon his soon to be former tools in Cloud and seek out the snake, it would take giving Orochimaru Itachi's body, but he would still have chance at his desire, The end of the Ninja World.

The group went to the room at the top of the tower, where the now crippled Real Pein was.

"Madara, take us there now."

"Last chance, are you sure?"

"He dies or I die, no discussion"

"Fine, but once there, I won't be back to get you." stated Madara in a disappointed tone. He grasped the frame holding Pein, The paths leaping onto in and grabbing hold.

From the start of the fight, Kisame was on the defensive. Bee was matching and suppressing Kisame's swordsmanship skills, The Raikage bouncing him around like a ping-pong ball. Raiton attacks frying his nerves and his senses dulled from pain. Itachi had abandoned him. The Wide area genjutsu Itachi had cast didn't affect the Cloud warriors. As Kisame got up for the last time from dodging a Lightning bolt attack, a dual clothes line attack with Bee's sword up high, separated Kisame's head from his body. Seeing this, Itachi dropped the area genjutsu and made his was to his planned escape route.

Location: The Former Senju compound

Gaara stormed in looking for Temari, Finding her and her weekly mailed Naruto clone in a darkened room, with her on the clones lap, He flipped on the light switch.

"What happened to Hinata?"

Temari climbed out of the clones lap, smoothed her clothes and ran over to hug Gaara.

"She's being held at Kankarou's playground, we'd go and get her, but without Naruto here, we're outgunned. "

"So, summon him now"

"No can do, Boss is fighting Akatsuki as we speak. We're shuttling clones to keep updated. Next update should be coming soon."

"Fuck, if Kankarou was part of this, he's dead sister, you know this."

"I know if he was, he's no longer family and fair game brother", agreed the Naruto clone currently holding the kunai charging it for the next throw.

Location: Cloud

Madara and the Pein have appeared at the top of the Raikage tower.

"Goodbye Pein, our partnership ends now." And Madara disappeared.

The other paths of Pein scrambled to the site of Konan's extermination, Rage and Anger spawning Killing Intent that flattened most in Cloud.

Meanwhile,

"Jailer, do you think the clones are done with the area seal version of our chakra funnel?"

"They're putting the finishing touches on the containment seal. Pein's puppets will self-power their own destruction."

Taking the containment seals of a normal Bijuu sealing ceremony, linking their power source to the chakra funnel seal of Naruto's own seal, the plan would suck every drop of chakra out of the puppets to power the very containment seal they would be trapped in. Meanwhile, the real Pein would be traceable as he tried to overpower the seal to free his puppets. From that point it was a race, Kill Pein before he could overpower it. With the Real Pein dead, the puppets blocked from their chakra source would drop and with it the seal. All Yugito had to do was immediately behead the bodies.

Location: Cloud city wall.

Itachi felt Madara warp in, he hoped he didn't push for a fight now. But Zetsu was high on his list at the moment; He needed Madara's sycophant dead now. He was too good of a tracker for his plans.

"Come out Zetsu. I can feel your presence."

"Traitorous bastard"

"Yes and your point is?"

"I will feast on your body and give your head to Madara"

"You can try…..and die."

Zetsu went underground, popped up behind Itachi. Stabbing Itachi, Itachi looked back at Zetsu and said one word.

"Boom", the explosion blew Zetsu back 30 feet in pile, blood flowing everywhere, Itachi leapt from a tree nearby, walked up to Zetsu and dropped the Genjutsu.

"Goodbye Zetsu" and chopped off his head.

Walking off from there, he thought, 'Till we meet again Naruto. Good luck with Pein, Sasori and Deidera."

Back at the main fight, Yugito, Bee, the Raikage and Naruto stared at the now gathered six paths of Pein. The toughest battle wouldn't be to kill them, but to stay unharmed enough to lure all six into the waiting trap.

_Authors Note: Some will probably say the Fights aren't all that detailed. But if you reread all the fights of canon or watch the fights, really do they really take more than a few jutsu each to end? The VOTE was two escalating evenly matched fighters, hence yes, that took maybe 30 minutes of real time. The monologues took longer than the fight itself. The more hand-to-hand fighting the longer the fight. At least that's my take on it. For Kakuza to survive not one but two major combo attacks, plus a large building leveling Shinra Tensai and still be able to fight to me is homage to his power. Does tossing those Jutsu out like that take more than a couple of Minutes? I doubt it._


	14. Chapter 14

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more Pein.

Location: Cloud Capitol

The real Pein and 5 paths stood on the roof of the Capitol Building. The Deva path was currently surrounded, Taking wounds while trying to gather chakra for another gravity attack. The Asura path calmly walked to the edge of the roof and allowed his weapons gear to open up the fight, three explosive projectiles roared down at the group in the square a fair distance from the tower. The explosion was dead center on the Deva Path, Concrete, dirt, blood and gravel mixed in a large smoky cloud. The Human and Naraka path's leaped down and ran to the near destroyed body of the Deva Path. Picking up the body and backing away, a summons from the Animal Path covered their retreat. The Cerberus growling and flinging spittle with each shake of its heads.

The Raikage and Bee were the first to recover. Summoning huge amounts of chakra, the Raikage leapt up on the summons pounding away fiercely at the beast. Electrical shocks from each blow forcing it down, Bee ran to get Yugito out of the now destroyed building she landed in. Shaken away, Bee channeled demonic chakra into her system to awaken the Nbi. Nibi flared awake with a roar, and with that both surged towards the Peins. Bee headed for the Preta path guarding the original and Yugito toward the Human, Naraka and nearly destroyed Deva Path. Bee summoned his swords to ensure the Preta never touched him and absorbed his chakra. The 8 tailed bull pulling out all of his chakra to ensure the cloak over Bee didn't fail. The enhanced sword strikes slicing and dicing the Preta path, The Original Pein was firing chakra receivers all over trying to hit Bee, but the 8 sword style was near impenetrable.

Naruto, on the other hand shunshined to cover to recover the clones who built the containment seal. Thinking time was the essential item in this battle, as long as the Human path exists, the fight would not end. Clones dispelled, he found the area seal complete, the clones had used corner of the tower and several street light bases as the anchors. Seal complete, he opened his travel scroll, pulled out all his Hiraishin kunai and started throwing them.

"Keep on them guys, I'll go get the cripple to join the party" screamed Naruto.

Flashing to the side of the tower and wall running to the roof, Naruto climbed over seeing Bee turning to move on the original, he fired up a Rasengan and charged, Attacking the machinery moving the crippled Akatsuki, Two legs exploded on impact, the chakra stored in them detonating on impact, throwing Bee and Naruto to the roof edge, and forcing Pein onto his side nearly completely unconscious from shrapnel impacts forcing large amounts of blood to race down the housing. Naruto couldn't move quickly enough but his clones could, with a mere thought 6 raced over picked up the sparking, smoldering housing and threw it over the edge of the 10 story building. Flying down towards the ground the original Pein never felt the sickening crunch of a skull exploding when hitting the concrete. The remaining conscious paths reeled with pain, their chakra source gone, Pein screamed in agony from his paths.

"Herd them here, now"

The Raikage and Yugito grinned; it was time for the finishing moves. Summoning up her demonic chakra Yugito leapt into the failing paths grabbed them and threw them at the machinations of the original, Bee shunshined down with the unconscious Preta, and spiked it on a leg of the device pointing outwards.

With all the paths in pile, Naruto charged the seal. The barrier sucking the last of the chakra from the paths. The last one conscious groaned, "How?"

"Skill and planning douche bag. Enjoy death. Since Ame was your playground, I'll be sure to visit them and give them a lesson in your morals, you self righteous asshole. They'll die easier than you did."

10 minutes later the seal showed zero chakra, he signaled Yugito to ready a Demonic fire jutsu.

"Finish them" and Naruto dropped the seal, the bodies were burning with a stench of old death and decomposition hidden by the cripple's chakra. Explosions came from the arm of the Asura path splattering flaming chunks of flesh in a large circle.

Sasori and Deidera were about to cross the seal that was around Suna II. Madara appeared in front of them,

"Stop, Even if you succeed now, we don't have enough members to do the sealing, I have need of you elsewhere.'

"What has happened,' in his usual gruff tone.

"Failure and treachery happened. Itachi abandoned Kisame. Konan, Kakuza and Pein, Taking 3 Hosts at once was a tactical mistake that Pein paid for in full."

"What do we do now, yeah?"

"We retreat and evaluate, Sasori, find the snake, don't confront him. We need to know what he's doing and if he's of any use to us. Deidera, Head towards Cloud, slow the exit of Naruto and the 2 tails from there. We need time and we don't know what Itachi has planned with him."

With that Madara disappeared, Sasori and Deidera moving off in separate directions, wondering if they would survive their new tasks.

Back in Cloud, Yugito and Naruto accompanied the Raikage and Bee back to the tower. The killing of so many famous missing Nins was easier than they thought it would be.

"Almost seemed to easy didn't it?"

"There's and old Uzamaki strategy, never enter combat without knowing your foe. We knew what each once could do beforehand, and we capitalized, that's all."

"We sent them to rest, cause we're the best, they can't stand the man, who kills better that the plan. "rhymed Bee.

"Enough , Bee. When you leaving with Yugito, Naruto?"

"When you guys are set and she's ready, I have my scroll , that's all my stuff ready to go,"

" Go, relax and pack, come see us before you leave" instructed the Raikage.

And With that, Yugito and Naruto got up and left for a evening of soaking and relaxation, knowing most of their foes were now dead. The only dangerous ones left to them being Madara and Orichimaru. Madara for his tailed beast desires and Orichimaru for being to only Sannin Naruto didn't know how to beat.

At the apartment complex, they went to the rooftop onsen,

Grabbing their buckets and ladling water on the hot rocks to create steam, They sat down, Yugito putting herself into a prone position to lay out and put her head on Naruto's lap. She wanted her pet down. Naruto just wanted to loosen tightened and sore muscles.

"Where we heading first?"

"New Suna, spend a few days there, then the beaches are calling to me. Plus I wanted to go property shopping, see if we can get our own orchard."

"Sounds like fun, You think Temari and I will get along?"

"You're so much alike it's scary, Headstrong, tough, skilled in combat, true warriors. You both are also sensitive, caring, so in need of a loving life, I can't picture a better pair of women in the world. Plus, you're both scorching hot Blondes. What more can a man need?"

"Don't you forget it either, or else we'll both kick your ass"

"Always"

And with that they sat/laid there, enjoying heat and quiet companionship for the rest of the evening.

Location: New Suna

Gaara and Temari made their way to the garrison headquarters. Sand moving anyone in their path out of their way. The Commander was in the 'playground' and they intended to get answers for themselves. If they had to trash all of the offices in the HQ, they were going to get answers. If they didn't like them, well, it was a question of when, not if, they would go rouge and get out of there, Taking at least Hinata with them. Gaara wasn't going to forget her for no man, no village, No country,


End file.
